REESE  LIBRARY 


^ji n__n — n — n — n, 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 
Deceived          J&&&T.. 

t^-f  S-y      f^      fy 

^Accession  No.  / /JL  /    /    Q    .   Q^ssNoi 


STEAM  SHOVELS 


AND 


STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK 


BY  E.  A.   HERMANN,  M.  AM.  Soc.  C.  E. 


1894. 

ENGINEERING  NEWS  PUBLISHING  CO., 
NEW  YORK. 


\\°\ 


Copyright,  1894,  by  Engineering  News  Publishing  Co. 


CON  TENTS 


PART  1.— Steam  Shovels 

*'     2.— Steam  Shovel  Work 

"      3.— Disposition  of  Material 

"     4.— Cost  of  Steam  Shovel  Work. 


Pages. 

1-19 
19-41 
41-55 
55-57 


INDEX. 


Ballast,  plowing 48, 

Blasting 39,  52  I 

Brine,  sprinkling  earth 52 

Cars, dump 19,41,47 

Flat 42 

Loadinsr 19 

Unloading 42,  47 

Cost  of  work 55 

Cuts 28,36,39 

Time  for 17 

Widening 19 

Explosives.  .  39.  52 

Fills,  trestles  for 47 

Grades,  construction   track 34 

Cutting  down  28 

Grading 25 

Gravel  train 42, 45,  50 

Engines  for —    60 

Unloading 48 

Leveling 53 

Loading  cars 19 

Gangs  for 21,  22,  23 

Operating,  men  for 18 

Plow,  Barnhart... 43 

Gravel 42 

Plowing,  cable  for ....    50 

Gravel  train 48 

Hauling  engine  for 51 

Winter,  brine  for 52 

Railways,  construction 33 

Reducing  grades 28 

Widening  cuts 19 


Railway  work  18,28,33 

Rapid  unloader 51 

Spreaders 53 

Steam  shovels,  Barnhart 6 

Boilers 9 

Bucyrus 4 

Clement 10 

Daily  capacity 41 

Description 5 

Giant 12 

Invention  of 1 

Little  Giant 12 

Industrial  Works 10 

Machinery  of 5 

Marion  S.  S.  &  Dredge  Co 6 

Number  of  men  18 

Operation 16 

Osgood  2 

Otis-Chapman 14 

Repairs 19 

Souther's 14 

Thompson 4 

ToledoF.&  M.  Co 8 

Types 3 

Victor 8 

Vulcan  Iron  Works  12 

Tools 16,18 

Track,  arrangement  of 19 

Narrow  srage 47 

Trains,  dirt,  handling       . .  19,  42,  45,  48,  50 

Trestles  for  fills 47 

Widening  cuts 19 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK.* 


By  E.  A.  HERMANN,   M.  Am.   Soc.   C.   E. 


Part  I. — Steam  Shovels. 

The  following  article  originated  in  a  short  paper  which  was 
read  before  a  local  society  of  civil  engineers,  and  there  were 
so  many  requests  made  for  this  paper  and  the  illustrations  pre- 
sented with  it  that  the  author  was  led  to  believe  that  there  was 
a  demand  for  such  information.  Believing  that  a  better  under- 
standing of  the  capabilities  of  these  machines  will  serve  a  useful 
purpose  in  economizing  money,  time  and  labor  in  the  execution 
of  work  to  which  they  are  adapted,  the  author  presents  in  this 
article  the  information  learned  by  a  long  practical  experience 
in  this  special  class  of  work.  Descriptions  of  the  various  steam 
shovels  can  readily  be  found  in  the  trade  catalogues  of  the  differ- 
ent manufacturers,  but  very  little  has  been  published  on  the 
manner  of  using  them  in  the  execution  of  different  classes  of 
work,  and  the  disposition  of  the  excavated  material  after  it  has 
been  loaded  on  cars  or  wagons.  This  part  of  the  subject  will 
receive  most  attention,  and  although  much  of  it  may  seem  very 
elementary  to  those  who  have  had  an  extended  experience  in 
operating  steam  shovels,  it  may  be  entirely  new  to  the  much 
larger  number  who  have  had  few  or  no  opportunities  for  doing 
work  of  this  kind.  It  has  been  the  aim  of  the  author  to  con- 
dense the  reading  matter  as  much  as  possible,  making  it  a  point 
to  use  many  illustrations  in  place  of  lengthy  explanations,  thus 
presenting  the  subject  more  clearly  than  by  extended  descrip- 
tions. 

The  steam  shovel,  or  steam  excavator,  is  a  modified  form 
of  dredge  adapted  for  excavating  material  on  dry  land.  It  was 
designed  and  patented  by  a  Mr.  Otis,  about  1840,  and  like  most 
new  inventions  the  first  machine  built  was  a  very  clumsy  affair, 

*  Copyright  by  Engineering  News  Publishing  Co.,  1894. 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK.  5 

a  machine  of  a  later  design  has  come  into  use  and  is  now  gen- 
erally preferred  for  this  class  of  work. 

This  is  the  machine  of  the  first  type,  resting  on  a  wooden  or 
iron  car  body,  supported  on  trucks  of  standard  gage,  with  an 
iron  or  steel  crane  from  18  to  26  ft.  high  over  the  track  when 
in  working  order,  and  which  can  be  lowered  to  14  ft.  to  permit 
shipment  through  tunnels  and  under  low  overhead  bridges. 

Machines  of  the  third  type  are  generally  of  smaller  capacity 
than  the  others;  they  have  come  into  general  use  only  within 
the  past  few  years,  but  are  now  multiplying  rapidly  in  numbers 
as  their  utility  for  nearly  all  kinds  of  work  is  better  appreciated. 
They  are  especially  adapted  to  smaller  jobs  and  work  not  readily 
accessible  by  rail,  but  where  common  roads  are  available. 

These  three  types  are  shown  in  Figs.  I  to  9,  representing  the 
machines  of  seven  of  the  principal  manufacturers. 

Steam  shovels  will  excavate  any  kind  of  material  except  solid 
rock,  and  they  will  load  rock  if  it  has  been  broken  up  by  ex- 
plosives into  pieces  of  not  more  than  3-4  cu.  yd.  in  size.  The 
materials  excavated  by  them  are  mostly  sand,  loose  gravel,  all 
kinds  of  clay,  cemented  gravel,  hardpan,  clays  mixed  with 
bowlders  and  other  small  stones,  ore,  phosphate  rock,  loose 
rock  and  thin  seams  of  slate,  shale  or  sandstone. 

These  machines  are  used  for  excavating  material,  loading  it 
on  cars  or  wagons  for  ballasting  tracks;  for  filling  trestles, 
streets,  roads,  dams,  lots  and  new  city  additions;  for  widen- 
ing embankments  for  double  track,  side  tracks,  yards, 
shops  and  station  grounds;  for  cutting  down  street,  road 
and  railway  grades;  grading  lots  and  new  city  additions,  rail- 
wax"  yards,  shop  and  station  grounds;  widening  cuts,  removing 
land  slides,  stripping  coal  fields,  ore  beds  and  stone  quarries; 
digging  canals  and  drainage  ditches,  loading  clays  for  brick 
yards,  etc. 

Construction  of  Steam  Shovels. — The  general  plan  of  con- 
struction of  the  machines,  shown  in  Figs,  i  to  9,  is  essentially 
the  same  in  all,  and  consists  of  a  strong  frame,  mounted  on 
wheels,  forming  the  base  to  which  all  working  parts  are  attached. 
The  boiler  and  machinery  are  placed  near  the  rear  end  of  the 
frame,  and  the  mast,  or  post,  and  crane  at  the  front  end.  The 
crane  is  made  in  two  pieces  connected  only  at  the  top  or  point, 
and  at  the  foot  of  the  mast.  Between  these  pieces,  serving  as 
guides,  is  the  dipper  handle,  carrying  at  its  farther  end  the  dip- 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 


SHOTELS  A>T>  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 

per  or  scoop.    To  the  top  of  the  post  (or  to  the  foot  in  some  ma- 

CllS^ttLTtn:eSrtSt  instant  part  of  the 

Jchtnery  of  the    team  shovel  is  the  gearing  imparting  motion 

o  the  ho isting  drum,  actuating  the  chains  by  which  the  dipper 

ed  and  lowered.     It  is  in  almost  constant  use.  and  is  often 

uSSd  to    -ere  shocks  in  hard  digging.     Of  all  parts  of  the 

erv  it  is  the  most  likely  to  break  or  rapidly  wear  out. 

Xau  al      .    has  received  the  most  attention  of  any  part  o,  the 

L  m    Le.  in  all  efforts  to  improve  the  design,  •£*£-£ 

durability  of  the  machine.    There  are  a  «^<*«*Z% 

gears  in  use,  and  essentially  they  are  «*erfnction  dutch  es  or 

ositive  searing.  The  use  of  the  former  subjects  the  machine 
SSdSfto  less  severe  shocks,  and  can  be  thrown  m  and  out 
of  gear  more  rapidly,  but  it  wears  out  quicker,  <*«J~JJ 
lay  by  heating,  and  requires  frequent  repairs.  Posit ne  gea ring 
exposes  the  machinery  and  crane  to  more  severe  shocks ^  n  hard 
digging,  and  must  be  started  slowei,  especially  in  hard  aU 

bur while  these  machines  are  a  little  slower  than  those  operated 
with  friction  clutches,  they  are  less  subject  to  the  expen 
pairs  and  delay  due  to  the  disarrangement  of  the  hoisting  gear, 
so  that  their  total  output  of  material  about  equals,  and  sor 
times  exceeds,  the  quicker  moving  friction  gear  mach 

The  mechanism  for  thrusting  the  dipper  into  the  bank  i 
tached  to  the  crane,  and  the  forms  most  generally  i 

t0l!°Tchain,  one  end  of  which  is  attached  to  the  rear  end  of 
the 'dipper  handle,  and  the  other  end  wound  around  , L  drum 
rceiving  its  motion  by  an  endless  chain  passing  over  a  sprocket 
wheel  connected  to  the  axle  of  the  sprocket  wheel  at  the  top  of 
the  mast,  over  which  the  hoisting  chain  passes,  thereby  revolv 
ing  both  wheels.  This  drum  is  thrown  into  gear  by  a  fnc 
clutch,  and  its  motion  regulated  by  the  cranesmans  lever  anc 

°°2    A  rack  on  the  dipper  handle  operated  by  a  pinion  attached 
to  a  shaft  revolved  and  regulated  as  above  described. 

7    A  small  double  cylinder  engine  operating  either  a  pimo 
and  rack  as  above  described,  or  revolving  a  drum  with  a  chain 
attached  to  it.  and  the  rear  end  of  the  dipper  handle  as  des< 

in  the  first  case. 

4.  A  long  steam  cylinder  attached  to  the  dipper  handle,  whose 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVED  WORK.  11 

generally  oak,  often  incased  with  heavy  plate  iron.  In  others 
it  is  constructed  of  iron  or  steel  I-beams  and  channels.  In  all 
machines  it  is  strongly  built  and  braced  with  a  view  to  sustain 
the  weight  of  the  working  parts  and  to  resist  the  shocks  to  which 
it  is  subjected.  The  floor  is  usually  of  3-in.  oak  plank. 

The  mast  or  post  is  made  of  cast  or  wrought  iron,  strongly_ 
braced  and  guyed  to  the  frame.  It  is  the  pivot  about  which  the 
crane  swings,  and  easy  working  in  its  bearings  is  of  great  im- 
portance for  the  rapid  and  economical  operation  of  the  machine. 
In  order  to  prevent  breakage  or  delay  it  should  never  be  per- 
mitted to  wabble  by  neglecting  to  promptly  tighten  its  braces 
and  guys  in  case  they  should  work  loose.  The  post  should 
always  stand  vertical,  or  practically  so,  to  insure  the  horizontal 
motion  of  the  crane  and  avoid  unnecessary  straining  of  the 
swinging  gear.  For  this  reason  the  machine  should  be  set 
practically  level  before  beginning  operations;  and  using  a  small 
mason's  level  is  better  than  trusting  to  the  eye,  when  blocking 
under  the  track  and  adjusting  the  jack  screws  for  this  purpose. 

The  crane  is  secured  to  the  post,  and  is  made  of  wood,  iron 
or  steel,  strongly  and  compactly  built  to  resist  the  shocks  to 
which  it  is  often  subjected.  It  is  from  14  to  20  ft.  high  above 
the  track  or  ground,  varying  with  machines  of  different  sizes 
and  manufacture,  and  swings  horizontally  through  an  angle  of 
1 80  to  240  degrees,  with  a  radius  of  15  to  20  ft.  In  some  ma- 
chines it  must  be  detached  from  the  post  for  shipment,  in  others 
(mostly  those  made  for  railway  use  exclusively)  it  can  be  lowered 
to  a  height  of  14  ft.  above  the  track,  thereby  permitting  ship- 
ment without  detaching  from  the  post. 

The  clipper,  scoop,  or  bucket  is  made  of  iron  or  steel,  shaped 
somewhat  like  a  coal  scuttle.  Its  cutting  edge  is  protected  by 
four  teeth  made  of  steel  or  steel  pointed.  These  teeth  are  easily 
removed  for  sharpening  or  replacement.  Dippers  vary  in  size 
from  1-2  cu.  yd.  to  2  1-2  cu.  yds.  capacity.  They  also  vary 
somewhat  in  shape,  according  to  the  material  to  be  excavated, 
though  no  special  provision  is  made  for  this  unless  there  are 
very  large  quantities  of  the  same  kind  of  material  to  be  removed ; 
or  for  machines  working  in  a  certain  class  of  material  only,  like 
ore  loaders.  For  general  work  in  all  kinds  of  materials  the  dip- 
per is  seldom  changed. 

For  soft,  tenacious  material,  likely  to  adhere  to  the  inner  sides 
of  the  dipper,  and  not  drop  out  promptly  when  the  bottom  door 


12  STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 

is  opened  for  unloading,  the  dipper  is  shaped  as  shown  in  Fig. 
10,  with  a  larger  bottom  than  mouth.  In  hard,  or  dry  soft  ma- 
terial the  section  shows  parallel  sides,  as  in  Fig.  n.  For  gen- 
eral use  the  bottom  of  the  dipper  should  be  slightly  larger  than 
the  mouth,  as  most  materials  contain  more  or  less  moisture 


FIG.  7.— GIANT  STEAM  SHOVEL;  Vulcan  Iron  Works  Co.,  Toledo,  0. 

which  is  likely  to  produce  a  partial  clogging  of  the  dipper  by 
material  sticking  to  the  inner  sides,  especially  between  the  teeth, 
necessitating  frequent  cleaning  out  whenever  the  machine  is 
stopped  while  preparing  to  move  forward,  and  sometimes 
oftener.  For  ordinary  clay,  cemented  gravel,  and  hard  dry 


FIG.  8.— LITTLE  GIANT  STEAM  SHOVEL;  Vulcan  Iron  Works  Co.,  Toledo,  0. 

materials,  a  dipper  with  a  wide  and  shallow  mouth,  as  shown  in 
plan  in  Fig.  12,  is  preferred  to  the  one  shown  in  Fig.  13,  which 
latter  is  better  adapted  for  loose  gravel,  sand  and  other  soft  dry 
materials  where  a  deep  cut  can  easily  be  made.  For  hardpan, 
shale,  loose  rock  and  similar  materials,  ample  strength  of  teeth 
and  dipper  is  of  great  importance  than  its  shape. 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 


13 


To  prevent  tenacious  material  from  sticking  to  the  inner  sides 
of  the  dipper,  and  to  allow  it  to  drop  out  freely  when  the  bot- 
tom door  is  opened,  it  is  often  good  economy  to  place  a  barrel 
of  water  near  the  head  of  the  machine  from  which  a  bucketful 
can  be  taken  and  thrown  into  the  dipper  just  before  each  cut. 
The  water  acts  as  a  lubricant  and  causes  the  material  to  drop  out 
more  readily.  For  cleaning  the  dipper,  the  tool  shown  in  Fig. 
14  is  used. 

The  chains  have  links  of  three-quarters-inch  to  one-inch 
diameter,  and  are  made  of  iron,  sometimes  of  steel.  Their  con- 
stant use  necessarily  subjects  them  to  great  wear,  and  as  they  are 
also  often  exposed  to  severe  shocks  (especially  the  hoisting  chain 
they  must  be  made  of  the  very  best  material  and  in  the  most 


u 


Fig.  10. 


Fig. II. 


Fig,iZ.  Fig.  13. 

Figs.   10  to  13.  — Buckets  for  Steam  Shovel. 

careful  manner.  At  present  iron  chains  are  preferred  to  those 
made  of  steel:  they  are  more  durable,  and  less  likely  to  break 
under  severe  shocks.  Steel  chains  have  suffered  in  reputation 
through  rapid  wear  and  frequent  breakages  occurring  within  the 
last  few  years,  but  with  increased  experience  in  their  manufac- 
ture and  use  they  will  undoubtedly  be  improved,  and  eventually, 
take  the  lead  over  iron  chains. 

The  propelling  mechanism  consists  of  an  endless  chain  con- 
necting one  or  more  axles  of  the  truck  or  supporting  wheels 
with  the  shaft  of  the  hoisting  drum  by  means  of  friction  clutches 
or  positive  gearing.  The  usual  speed  is  five  to  six  miles  per 
hour. 

Steam  shovels  of  seven  of  the  most  prominent  manufacturers 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  SfEAM  SHOVEL   WORK. 


ifL 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL   WORK. 


15 


are  shown  in  Figs.  I  to  9,  and  the  general  particulars  of  each 
are  given  in  condensed  form  in  Table  I.  In  each  case  the  boiler 
is  upright. 

TABLE  1.— GENERAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  IMPORTANT   PARTS  OF  THE  MOST 
PROMINENT  MAKES  OF  STEAM  SHOVELS. 


,  Frame  — 
Fig.  Shovel.  Material.   Size, 

ft. 

Running     Gage, 
gear.      ft.  in*. 

Kn- 
B'l'r  gine. 

Cylinder, 
ins. 

H'st'g 
gear. 

1..  Osgood  Wood.. 

..10  X 

34 

2  trucks.  4     8^3 

Vert.  Hor. 

Two  10 

X  12 

it                  « 

..10X 

30 

* 

•* 

t«        •< 

**      8ki 

X  10 

- 

"                  *' 

..10X 

25 

« 

<« 

•t        it 

"      7 

X  10 

2..  Thompson  i  I-be'm 

)  10  X 

32 

< 

«« 

ft        tt 

-   10 

X14 

| 

J     and 

(.10X 

30 

« 

•• 

it        tt 

"      8 

X12 

_  •§ 

"           j  chan- 

i  10  x 

28 

• 

" 

tt        «t 

"      8 

X  10 

1j3 

(     nels 

)  10  X 

24 

« 

•« 

•«        «* 

"      6 

X    8 

o 

3...Barnhart... 

10  X 

28 

« 

" 

• 

Vert. 

"      8 

X  10 

1 

<«                   i» 

10  X 

26 

• 

1 

** 

• 

Hor. 

One   8 

X  10 

•c 

it                   tt 

10  X 

24 

« 

«• 

i 

Vert. 

"      8 

X10 

£ 

«                   «« 

10  X 

22 

< 

1 

M 

• 

"      6 

X    8 

5..  .Victor  " 

10  X 

30 

i 

I 

M 

« 

Hor. 

Two  8 

X10 

6..  Clement  

10  X 

30 

4 

( 

" 

• 

"      8 

X  101 

«'ive 

7.  ..Giant  

10  X 

35A 

I 

H 

• 

i« 

"     13 

X  16 

10  X 

35 

• 

t4 

• 

*« 

"      8 

X  12 

1     ®  o 

it                     «« 

10  x 

30 

« 

M 

« 

«« 

..      7 

X  11 

v.  3-w 

8..  Little  'Giant      '| 

7  X 

23  f 

4r[d 

wh.'.S 

0 

« 

" 

"       7 

X  11 

1  'S"§ 

6  X 

23  \ 

"  .  8 

0 

•• 

"       6 

X    8 

)  ^ 

9.  .Otis-Ch'pm'n.Wood 

..10  X 
..10X 

22  f 
181 

4fTge.wh7 

10 
10 

' 

Vert. 

One  in 
"       8 

X  \L 
X  10 

VPosi- 
/  tive 

Fig.  Thrusting  Mechanism. 

(       Reversible  engines,  2  steam  cylinders 
I  ...1  each  6x8 ins. 

Do.,  do   5X6  ins. 

2 (  Rack  on  dipper  handle  actuated  by  friction 

3 \  clutch  geared  to  hoisting  drum . 

5 Reversible  engine,  2  steam  cyls.  6x8  ins. 

6 Long  st'm  cyl.,  piston  rod  at  ch'd  to  dipper 

o — -I  Reversible  engine,  2  steam  cyls.  5  X  6  ins. 
»....  ^ 

o       /Chains  on  dipper  handle  actuated  by  fric- 
y •  •  •  •  \        tion  clutch  geared  to  hoisting  drum . 


Swinging  Mechanism. 

I  Chains  attached  to  circle  geared 
to  hoisting  drum 

\  Wire  ropes  attached   to  circle 
f  and  pist'n  rods  in  lontr  st'm  cyl. 

}  Reversible  engine,  2  steam  cyl- 
inders 5x6  ins.;    except  A, 
cylinders  7  X  9  ins. 
\  Chains  attached  to  circle  geared 
/  to   hoisting  drum 


r-H'ght  ab've^ 
gr'nd  or  track. 
Work-      Ship- 

Capacity 
Swing-          of 

Post 
Fie.          material. 

ine-  or-  ping  or-    Radius,  ing  angle. 
Material,  der,  ft.   der,  ft.         ft.            deg. 

dipper, 
cu.  yds. 

W'ht, 
tons. 

1. 

...  f    Wt.  iron 

^  Wt.  iron.. 

26 

14 

24 

240 

2 

40 

A 

y 

24 

14 

24 

2»n 

1^ 

30 

V        frame 

\ 

20 

14 

20 

240 

1 

20 

2. 

...  /Cast-iron.. 

23 
18 
18 
16 

14 
14 
14 
14 

20 
18 
Ifi 
12 

200 
200 
200 
200 

45 
40 
30 
20 

3. 

/'Wt.  iron... 

'.'.'.'Wood..... 

26 

14 

20 

200 

1^2 

37 

1        " 

•;;    ."       ;;; 

24 

20 

14 
14 

20 

18 

20U 
200 

\ 

26 
16 

I       "        '.'•' 

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Makers:  1  (Osgood):  Osgood  Dredge  Co.,  Albany,  N.  Y.  2  (Thompson):  Bucy- 
rus  Steam  Shovel  &  Dredge  Co.,  Bucyrus,  O.  3,  4  (Barnhart):  Marion  -team 
Shovel  Ca.,  Marion,  O.  5  (Victor):  Toledo  Foundry  &  Machine  Co.,  Toledo,  O. 
6  (Clement):  Industrial  Works,  Bay  City,  Mich.  7  (Giant)and  8  (Little  Giant): 
Vulcan  Iron  Works  Co.,  Toledo,  O.  9  (Otis-Chapman):  John  Souther  &  Co., 
Boston,  Mass. 


16        STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 

Operation  of  Steam  Shovels. — All  movements  of  the  steam 
_shove^are  controlled  by  two  men,  the  engineman  and  the  cranes- 
man.  The  former  is  stationed  near  the  engine,  the  latter 
on  a  small  platform  attached  to  the  crane.  The  engineman  di- 
rects the  movements  for  raising  and  lowering  the  dipper,  swing- 
ing it  into  position  for  unloading,  and  moving  the  machine  for- 
ward or  backward.  The  cranesman  regulates  the  depth'  of  the 
cut  made  by  the  dipper,  releases  it  from  the  bank  when  full  or 
near  the  top  of  the  crane,  and  pulls  the  spring  latch  of  the  bot- 
tom door  of  the  dipper  when  in  position  for  unloading,  thereby 
dumping  its  contents. 

These  motions  are  shown  in  Figs.  15  and  16.  Beginning 
with  the  dipper  in  the  position  shown  at  A,  Fig.  15,  the  engine- 
man  throws  the  hoisting  drum  into  gear,  and  starting  the  engine 
pulls  the  dipper  upward,  the  cranesman  at  the  same  time  thrust- 
ing it  forward,  regulating  the  depth  of  the  cut  so  that  it  will  not 
stop  the  engine  or  tip  up  the  rear  end  of  the  machine.  When 
the  dipper  has  reached  the  position  B,  near  the  top  of  the  crane, 


Fig.  14. — Spade  for  Cleaning  Buckets. 

the  engineman  throws  the  hoisting  drum  out  of  gear,  and  -holds 
it  in  position  with  a  foot  brake;  at  the  same  time  the  cranesman 
by  easing  his  foot  brake,  allows  the  dipper  to  fall  back  to  the 
position  C.  The  engineman  then  swings  the  dipper  over  the 
car  or  wagon,  as  shown  in  Fig.  16,  when  the  cranesman  pulls 
the  latch  rope,  thereby  opening  the  bottom  door  of  the  dipper 
and  dropping  the  contents.  The  engineman  then  swings  the 
crane  back  again  to  the  next  cut,  at  the  same  time  releasing  his 
foot  brake  on  the  hoisting  drum  until  the  dipper  has  fallen  to 
a  point  near  the  ground,  as  at  D,  Fig.  15,  where  he  holds  it  for 
an  instant  with  the  foot  brake,  then  drops  it  by  releasing  the 
brake,  while  the  cranesman  (during  this  slight  drop)  regulates 
the  length  of  the  radius  of  the  dipper  handle  by  releasing  his 
foot  brake  so  as  to  bring  the  dipper  into  the  position  A  again, 
and  adjoining  the  last  cut.  While  the  dipper  is  being  lowered, 
the  bottom  door  closes  and  latches  itself  by  its  own  weight,  when 
all  is  ready  again  for  another  cut. 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 


17 


These  motions  are  very  simple  when  taken  separately,  but 
when  performed  together  by  two  different  men,  experience  and 
quickness  in  both  are  required  to  carry  on  the  work  rapidly 


c^iPlg]?^^ 

Fig.  15.— Showing  Series  of  Operations  for  Excavating. 

and  harmoniously,  without  breakages  on  delays.  In  loose 
gravel  one  cut  can  be  made  in  a  half  to  three-quarters  of  a  min- 
ute; in  hard  materials  one  and  a  half  to  two  minutes,  seldom 

more. 


"PTJ     '  ./    «        *,        •>{-*'-* 

Fig.  16. — Loading  Earth  from  Steam  Shovel  Onto  Cars. 

After  all  material  within  reach  of  the  dipper  has  been  removed, 
an  unoccupied  section  of  track  (generally  about  4  ft.  long)  at  the 


18        STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 

rear  of  the  steam  shovel  is  attached  to  the  dipper  by  a  chain 
and  dragged  around  the  machine  to  the  front  (by  swinging  the 
dipper  horizontally)  and  there  placed  in  position  in  line  with  the 
sections  of  track  under  the  machine.  The  screws  at  the  ends  of 
the  jack  arm  (a  horizontal  bar  at  the  front  end  of  the  machine 
used  for  steadying  it  when  cuts  are  taken  at  right  angles  to  the 
steam  shovel)  are  then  released,  and  the  machine  moved  for- 
ward three  or  four  feet  by  throwing  the  propelling  gear  into 
motion.  After  placing  the  jack  screws  into  their  new  position, 
and  tightening  them,  and  blocking  the  supporting  wheels  of  the 
steam  shovel,  the  machine  is  ready  for  another  series  of  cuts. 

The  regular  employees  for  operating  a  steam  shovel  are  the 
y  gflg"]f»mapr  crgjjgsman,  fjrernan  and  four  laborers.  The  latter 
are  under  the  supervision  of  the  cranesman,  and  their  duties  are 
to  shovel  forward  any  lumps  or  loose  material  which  may  roll 
down  and  lodge  too  close  to  the  front  of  the  steam  shovel  to 
be  reached  by  the  dipper,  to  level  the  surface  of  the  ground  in 
front  of  the  machine,  preparing  it  for  the  next  section  of  track, 


Fig.  17, — Pole  for  Breaking  Down  Edge  of  Excavation. 

to  lay  these  sections  of  track,  to  attend  to  the  jack  screws  and 
blocking  and  to  act  as  general  utility  men. 

With  this  crew  dry  sand  and  loose  gravel  can  readily  be 
loaded.  In  harder  or  more  tenacious  materials  from  two  to 
six  extra  men  are  required,  depending  upon  the  kind  of  ma- 
terial to  be  excavated,  and  also  upon  good  management  of  the 
contractor  or  foreman  in  charge.  Wet  sand  and  fairly  loose 
gravel  requires  only  two  extra  men,  whose  duty  is  to  break 
down  the  overhanging  ledges  or  these  materials  which  cannot 
be  reached  by  the  dipper,  and  are  liable  to  fall  when  the  machine 
has  advanced,  burying  it  or  blocking  the  pit  behind  it.  The 
implement  used  by  these  men  is  a  pole,  Fig.  17,  headed  by  an 
iron  point,  resembling  a  surveyor's  pole.  With  these  poles 
fairly  loose  gravel  and  sand  can  be  readily  broken  down,  sloped 
at  its  natural  angle,  and  fed  into  the  pit  in  front  of  the  steam 
shovel.  In  harder  materials  three  to  four  extra  men  are  usually 
sufficient,  but  in  very  hard  or  tenacious  materials  as  many  as 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 


19 


six  must  be  employed.  These  men  break  down  overhanging 
material  in  the  face  of  the  bank  which  cannot  be  reached  by  the 
dipper,  bore  or  drill  holes  for  powder  or  dynamite  when  blast- 
ing becomes  necessary,  cut  and  remove  trees,  etc. 

On  all  but  very  small  pieces  of  railway  work  there  are  also 
employed  a  blacksmith  and  helper,  and  two  to  five  car  repairers. 
The  blacksmith's  work  consists  mostly  of  repairs  about  the  cars, 
mainly  bent  or  broken  aprons,  sideboards,  chains,  etc.  The 
steam  shovel  occupies  much  the  smaller  part  of  his  time.  His 


accommodation  requires  a  small  rough  frame  shop  about  10  by 
1 6  ft.  (an  old  box  car  body  is  frequently  used),  with  forge  and 
tools.  Another  rough  frame  shed  of  about  the  same  size  is 
needed  for  the  storage  of  tools,  oils  and  supplies.  The  section- 
men  of  the  respective  sections  are  occasionally  called  on  for  the 
building  and  maintaining  (or  taking  up)  of  the  various  side 
tracks  required  during  the  progress  of  the  work.  „ 

Part  II.— Steam  Shovel  Work. 

Widening  a  Cut;  Loading  on  the  Main  Track. — The  simplest 
and  one  of  the  most  frequent  cases  for  the  application  of  a  steam 
shovel  is  the  widening  of  a  single  track  railway  cut.  The  man- 


Fig.  19. 


ner  of  doing  this  is  shown  in  Fig.  18.  A  switch,  A  B,  is  put 
in  the  main  track  just  beyond  the  end  of  the  cut  and  far  enough 
away  to  permit  the  steam  shovel  (when  standing  on  the  side 
track)  to  clear  cars  on  the  main  track.  Cars  are  then  placed 
opposite  it  on  the  main  track  and  the  machine  is  ready  for  exca- 
vation. 

It  very  frequently  happens  that  the  end  of  the  cut  joins  di- 
rectly on  an  embankment,  as  shown  in  profile,  Fig.   19.     In 


20         STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 

cases  of  this  kind  it  would  be  necessary  to  widen  the  em- 
bankment for  the  reception  of  the  side  track,  near  the  end  of 
the  cut,  if  the  machine  were  to  begin  work  at  that  point,  C,  Fig. 
1 8.  This  is  very  seldom  done;  the  usual  method  is  to  remove 
the  section,  A,  Figs.  19  and  20,  to  B  by  hand  labor  with  wheel- 
barrows or  with  teams  and  scrapers.  The  excavated  material 
is  used  to  widen  part  of  the  embankment  near  the  end  of  the 
cut  for  the  reception  of  the  side  track.  Section  A  is  made 


barely  long  enough  to  provide  a  standing  place  for  the  steam 
shovel  and  clear  cars  on  the  main  track ;  it  is  seldom  over  50  ft. 
long,  and  averages  about  30  ft.  After  placing  the  machine  in 
this  space  it  is  ready  for  work.  Strings  of  10  to  20  cars  are 
then  drawn  along  the  main  track,  and  stopped  opposite  the  ma- 
chine for  loading. 

When  the  machine  has  reached  the  end  of  the  switch,  it  ad- 
vances on  short  sections  of  track,  generally  4  ft.  long,  which  are 


Main  Track 


Fig.21. 


placed  in  front  of  it,  and  again  taken  from  its  rear  when  it  has 
moved  forward  one  section  of  track  more  than  its  own  length. 
When  no  more  cuts  are  to  be  made  for  still  further  widening, 
the  switch  is  taken  up  again  and  the  machine  advances  on  its 
own  track  sections,  Fig.  21.  When  other  cuts  are  to  follow, 
however,  a  loading  track  is  needed  for  the  next  cut:  the  side 
track  is  then  extended  for  this  purpose  at  convenient  intervals, 
generally  about  300  ft.  at  a  time  though  often  after  each  space 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK.  21 

of  a  rail  length  (usually  30  ft.)  is  clear.  The  latter  is  by  Tar  the 
best  practice,  as  it  permits  the  immediate  withdrawal  of  the  ma- 
chine in  case  of  a  threatened  cave-in,  sidehill  slip,  or  other  un- 
foreseen danger. 

After  all  the  cars  have  been  loaded  they  are  taken  away  for 
unloading.  Sometimes  the  steam  shovel  is  left  idle  until  the 
train  returns,  which  is  a  very  wasteful  method  of  working,  even 
where  the  haul  to  the  dump  is  short,  half  a  mile  to  two  miles. 
Two  engines  and  crews  should  be  furnished  for  hauls  up  to  ten 
miles;  three  engines  and  crews,  or  more,  for  longer  hauls,  or 
where  the  traffic  on  the  main  line  is  very  heavy,  and  delays  to 
the  work  trains  are  frequent.  The  material  is  generally  utilized 
in  filling  trestles,  widening  embankments  for  side  tracks,  double 
tracks,  yards,  etc.,  thereby  making  two  improvements  at  the 
same  time. 

In  widening  a  cut  it  is  good  policy  to  keep  the  grade  of  the 
pit  from  i  to  2  ft.  below  the  surface  of  the  subgrade  of  the  main 


track,  as  shown  in  Fig.  22,  thereby  providing  for  drainage  of 
the  ballast  and  also  providing  a  receptacle  for  the  spreading  of 
loose  material  dropping  off  the  cars  and  washing  in  from  the 
surface  of  the  cut;  there  is  nearly  always  considerable  of  this 
loose  material  to  roll  or  wash  into  the  pit  after  the  cut  has 
been  completed ;  and  unless  room  is  provided  for  it,  the  accumu- 
lation will  soon  reach  the  height  of  the  track,  washing  mud  on 
it,  and  choking  the  drainage,  thus  injuriously  affecting  the  main 
track. 

Widening  a  Cut;  Loading  on  a  Side  Track  Graded  by  Hand 
or  Steam. — The  delays  in  loading  on  the  main  track  of  a  railway 
in  operation,  due  to  the  clearing  of  the  track  for  all  trains,  vary 
from  one  to  four  hours  per  day  of  ten  hours,  and  sometimes 
amount  to  as  much  as  seven  hours,  depending  upon  the  density 
of  the  traffic  on  the  line.  The  first  cut  in  a  case  such  as  the  lat- 
ter is  therefore  necessarily  an  expensive  one,  and  where  the 


22  STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 

traffic  is  so  heavy  it  is  often  cheaper  to  make  a  narrow  cut  for 
the  side  track,  on  which  the  steam  shovel  is  to  load,  either  by 
wagons  and  wheel  scrapers,  Fig.  23,  or  by  hand  with  wheel- 
barrows loading  back  on  cars,  Fig.  24. 

The  latter  plan  has  the  great  disadvantage  that  only  one  car 
at  a  time  can  be  loaded  and  only  few  men  (six  to  ten)  can  be 


,'"    Dump       J 


Dump 


Mam  TracJt 


Rg.23,a. 


Main  Track- 


employed.  Therefore  this  plan  is  never  adopted  where  quick 
work  is  required,  but  is  used  only  where  ample  time  is  available, 
and  mostly  as  an  early  spring  preliminary  job,  preparing  the 
way  for  the  operation  of  the  steam  shovel  later  in  the  season. 
From  three  to  six  flat  or  coal  cars  are  used,  enough  to  require 
a  whole  day  for  the  gang  of  men  employed  to  load ;  the  material 
from  the  face  of  the  excavation  is  loaded  on  wheelbarrows,  and 


Fig.24,a. 


wheeled  over  the  empty  cars  to  the  one  farthest  from  the  cut. 
This  car  is  loaded  first,  then  the  one  next  to  it,  etc.  At  night  the 
loaded  cars  are  taken  out  of  the  switch  by  the  first  available 
freight  train  and  hauled  to  the  nearest  yard  or  side  track  where 
widening  of  the  embankment  is  wanted,  or  where  the  material 
can  be  otherwise  used  to  advantage,  and  there  unloaded  by  a 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK.  23 

small  gang  of  men  on  the  following  day;  the  cars  to  be  returned 
again  the  next  night.  Other  empty  cars  are  placed  in  the  pit 
track  for  loading  next  day,  by  a  train  bound  toward  the  pit  the 
same  night  the  loaded  cars  were  taken  out.  The  work  can  be 
carried  on  from  either  one  or  both  ends  of  the  cut.  Coal  cars 
should  never  be  used  if  flats  can  possibly  be  obtained,  as  the 
latter  can  be  unloaded  by  a  gang  of  men  one-third  as  large  as 
would  be  necessary  for  unloading  coal  cars. 

Sometimes  small  dump  cars  are  used,  drawn  by  horses  or 
mules,  and  the  material  unloaded  at  the  end  of  the  cut,  thereby 
widening  the  embankment  for  a  long  side  track,  Fig.  25.  The 
narrow  gage  track,  A,  is  laid  over  the  ditch  adjoining  the  main 
track;  the  material  for  any  slight  excavation  that  may  be  neces- 
sary for  this  track  is  shoveled  on  the  slope  of  the  cut,  as  at  C, 
on  the  cross  section.  The  material  is  then  loaded  on  small 


dump  cars  standing  on  track  A,  and  unloaded  at  D.  The  cars 
are  returned  on  track  B.  The  cross-overs,  E  and  F,  are  taken 
up  occasionally  and  relaid  near  the  advancing  ends  of  the  cut 
and  dump. 

In  short  cuts  the  narrow  excavation  necessary  for  placing 
a  side  track  in  the  cut  for  the  steam  shovel  to  load  on  is  gen- 
erally taken  out  by  carts  and  dumped  at  the  ends  of  the  cut, 
widening  the  embankment  for  a  long  side  track. 

The  plan  of  excavation  with  wagons  or  wheel  scrapers  for  this 
side  track,  shown  in  Fig.  23,  is  adopted  where  the  traffic  is  too 
heavy  to  permit  loading  on  the  main  track ;  when  the  side  track 
is  wanted  at  the  earliest  possible  time;  and  in  cuts  not  over  40 
ft.  deep.  The  material  is  dumped  at  the  ends  of  the  cut  until 
the  haul  becomes  too  long,  then  it  is  taken  to  the  top  of  the 
cut  over  sidehill  driveways  excavated  for  the  purpose,  and  un- 


24 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK 


loaded  at  a  sufficient  distance  from  the  edge  of  the  new  cut  to 
prevent  its  washing  back  by  rains. 

These  expedients  are  necessary  only  on  railways  where  traffic 
is  very  heavy.  On  most  railways  (on  all  where  the  total  delay 
does  not  exceed  five  hours  per  day)  it  is  cheaper  to  load  on  the 
main  track  until  the  first  cut  has  been  made.  This  necessarily 
involves  the  delay  due  to  running  to  and  returning  from  the 
nearest  side  track  to  get  out  of  the  way  of  every  main  line  train, 


until  the  pit  track  is  long  enough  to  contain  the  construction 
train.  This,  however,  seldom  requires  more  than  two  weeks, 
generally  only  one;  the  excavation  of  all  of  the  first  cut  does 
not  often  occupy  more  than  a  month,  and  is  only  a  very  short 
time  compared  with  the  whole  length  of  time  that  the  steam 
shovel  is  usually  in  operation  on  all  but  very  small  jobs. 

After  a  side  track  has  been  laid  in  the  first  cut  made  by  one 
of  the  methods  described  above,  the  steam  shovel  begins  work 
at  A,  Fig.  26,  loading  cars  standing  on  the  side  track,  and  some 


of  them  extending  out  on  the  main  track.  At  first  not  more 
than  ten  cars  should  be  coupled  to  the  engine,  so  that  the  train 
can  quickly  run  into  the  side  track  on  the  approach  of  a  main 
line  train,  and  not  delay  its  passage.  After  the  steam  shovel 
has  advanced  a  train-length,  the  full  number  of  empty  cars  can 
be  coupled  to  the  engine,  as  they  will  all  be  on  the  side  track 
while  being  loaded. 

Where  the  embankment  has  been  previously  widened  by  the 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK.  25 

excavated  material  from  the  cut,  Fig.  27,  a  sufficient  length  to 
permit  laying  a  side  track  long  enough  to  hold  the  construction 
train,  the  full  number  of  cars  can  be  used  at  once,  a  great  ad- 
vantage in  keeping  the  steam  shovel  at  work  without  inter- 
ruption by  passing  trains,  which  is  unavoidable  when  some  of 
the  cars  extend  out  on  the  main  track. 

After  the  machine  has  reached  the  other  end  of  the  cut  it  is 
either  withdrawn  for  other  work,  or  placed  on  the  other  side 
of  the  main  track  for  widening  the  cut  on  that  side.  The  steam 
shovel  begins  at  A,  Fig.  28,  loading  cars  standing  on  the  main 
track ;  the  main  line  traffic  being  carried  over  a  temporary  main 
track  built  in  the  excavation  previously  made  by  the  steam 
shovel  on  the  other  side  of  the  main  track.  Only  a  few  cars 
at  a  time  can  be  used  for  loading  at  first,  unless  the  temporary 
main  track  has  been  extended  toward  B  a  sufficient  length  to 
clear  the  usual  string  of  about  20  cars  when  the  first  car  is  being 
loaded. 

Grading  Wide  Areas. — In  loading  gravel  for  ballasting,  or  in 
widening  a  cut  for  the  purpose  of  grading  yard,  shop  or  station 
grounds,  the  usual  manner  of  doing  the  work  is  shown  in  Figs. 
29  to  34.  After  the  first  cut  has  been  made  by  one  of  the  meth- 
ods already  described  the  steam  shovel  is  started  in  at  A,  Fig. 
29,  for  the  second  cut.  After  its  completion  the  first  side  track 
becomes  available  for  the  storage  of  empty  and  loaded  cars  as 
in  Fig.  30,  greatly  increasing  the  convenience  of  handling  the 
cars  and  preventing  delays  by  interferences  between  the  strings 
of  empty  and  loaded  cars,  then  the  latter  cannot  be  taken  away 
promptly  on  account  of  passing  or  shortly  expected  trains  on 
the  main  line.  After  the  completion  of  the  third  cut,  another 
side  track  is  available  for  cars,  Fig.  31,  the  loaded  cars  are  then 
placed  on  the  first  inside  track  and  the  empty  ones  on  the  sec- 
ond. The  former  are  taken  away  by  the  road  crew,  and  on  their 
return  placed  on  track  No.  2.  The  pit  crew  set  their  loaded 
cars  on  track  No.  i  for  the  road  crew,  and  get  their  empties  from 
track  No.  2.  The  pit  track  in  the  rear  of  the  steam  shovel  is 
used  as  a  repair  track  for  cars. 

After  the  completion  of  the  fourth  cut,  Fig.  32,  track  No.  3 
is  used  for  a  car  repair  and  extra  storage  track  for  loads  or 
empties,  for  which  there  may  not  be  room  in  tracks  I  or  2. 
Enough  tracks  have  then  been  built  for  the  most  efficient  and 
economical  handling  of  the  loaded  material,  and  if  the  emptv 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK, 


28         STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 

cars  are  promptly  returned  the  steam  shovel  can  be  kept  almost 
constantly  at  work.  Each  pit  track,  on  which  the  steam  shovel 
advances,  becomes  a  side  track  on  the  completion  of  that  cut, 
to  be  used  as  a  loading  track  for  the  next  cut  up  to  the  fourth 
cut,  after  which  the  loading  tracks  are  taken  up  on  completion 
of  the  cut  for  which  they  are  used,  Fig.  33,  and  relaid  in  the 
pit  of  the  next  cut,  to  be  used,  taken  up,  and  relaid  as  before 
for  the  following  cuts.  In  pits  less  than  one-quarter  mile  in 
length,  it  is  sometimes  necessary  to  retain  more  of  these  tracks 
to  provide  ample  storage  space  for  all  loaded  and  empty  cars. 

On  all  large  pieces  of  work  where  the  main  line  traffic  is 
heavy  it  is  important  that  the  first  side  track  from  A  to  B,  Fig7 
32,  shall  be  of  sufficient  length  (usually  about  700  ft.)  to  hold 
the  engine  and  a  full  string  of  cars  to  avoid  going  on  the  main 
track  when  switching  loads  to  C,  and  obtaining  empties  from 
D.  If  there  is  an  embankment  from  A  to  B  it  can  be  widened 
with  material  taken  from  the  cut,  either  by  wagon  or  cars. 


7654      32      I    Mam 

Rg.34, 

Grading  by  this  method  for  yard,  shop  and  station  grounds 
occurs  mostly  near  large  cities  where  better  terminal  facilities 
must  be  provided  for.  The  width  of  the  area  excavated  in  this 
manner  seldom  exceeds  200  ft.  (eight  cuts)  except  in  old  gravel 
pits  used  for  furnishing  material  for  ballasting  track,  which  are 
sometimes  300  ft.  (twelve  cuts)  or  more  in  width. 

Gravel  pits  and  other  wide  areas  excavated  are  seldom  less 
than  one-quarter  mile  or  more  than  one  mile  in  length.  One- 
•half  to  three-fourths  of  a  mile  is  the  most  usual  length;  in  ex- 
ceptional cases  two  miles  have  been  reached.  Long  and  narrow 
pits  can  be  worked  more  advantageously  than  short  and  wide 
ones.  ^xV_ 

Cutting  Down  Grades. — For  cutting  down  grades  on  rail- 
ways where  the  traffic  is  not  too  heavy  to  prohibit  loading  on 
the  main  track,  the  usual  plan  of  operations  is  shown  in  Figs. 
35  to  42.  The  machine  begins  work  at  A,  Figs.  35  and  36, 
the  beginning  point  of  the  new  grade,  loading  cars  on  the  main 
track,  cutting  to  the  line  of  the  new  grade,  and  moving  forward 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK.  29 

on  the  track  on  the  surface  of  the  pit  as  long  as  the  height  of 
the  crane  permits  raising  the  dipper  high  enough  over  the  cars 
to  open  the  bottom  door  of  the  dipper  and  discharge  its  con- 
tents, B,  Fig.  35.  This  point  is  usually  about  2  ft.  below  the 
main  track.  The  machine  must  then  be  gradually  run  upward 
on  a  cribwork  of  wooden  blocking,  generally  pieces  of  pine 
6  by  12  ins.  by  4  ft.  long,  with  some  longer  track  stringers  for 
supporting  the  sections  of  track  on  top  of  the  blocking,  and 
some  thinner  pieces  for  attaining  exact  heights  of  blocking 
when  needed.  As  the  machine  moves  forward  the  dipper  still 
continues  cutting  to  the  line  of  the  new  grade,  while  the  ma- 
chine is  gradually  run  upward  on  the  blocking  on  a  grade  paral- 
lel to  the  grade  of  the  main  track,  and  slightly  below  it,  main- 
taining- a  constant  height  between  the  top  of  the  track  on  the 
blocking  and  the  highest  point  to  which  the  dipper  can  be 


Fig.39. 

raised  on  the  crane  to  insure  discharging  its  load  on  the  cars. 
When  the  dipper  has  cut  as  low  as  the  length  of  the  dipper 
handle  will  permit,  C,  Fig.  35,  the  greatest  depth  to  which  the 
machine  will  cut  below  the  level  of  the  main  track  has  been 
reached,  and  as  the  steam  shovel  advances  the  surface  of  the 
pit  will  be  on  a  grade  parallel  to  the  grade  of  the  main  track, 
running  upward  to  the  summit,  S,  then  downward,  and  con- 
tinue so  until  it  cuts  the  new  grade  line  at  H,  when  the  dipper 
is  made  to  cut  on  this  grade,  while  the  blocking  under  the  ma- 
chine is  gradually  lowered  as  it  was  previously  raised,  until 
the  steam  shovel  reaches  the  end  of  the  new  grade  at  I,  when 
it  is  again  on  the  surface  of  the  pit. 

Although  the  machine  is  gradually  run  upward  an3  down- 
ward, it  is  always  blocked  level  after  each  forward  move  before 


30  STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 

beginning  work,  to  insure  quick  and  easy  swinging  of  the 
crane,  as  previously  explained.  Most  machines  will  cut  5  ft. 
below  the  main  track  and  load  on  a  flat  car  with  18  ins.  side 
boards.  Some  machines  will  cut  as  low  as  8  ft.,  and  they  are 
preferred  to  others  on  railways  where  much  work  of  this  kind 
is  done,  as  their  use  often  avoids  making  an  extra  cut. 

After  the  first  cut  has  been  completed,  the  pit  track,  A  i,  Fig. 
36,  becomes  the  temporary  main  and  loading  track;  the  main 
track  is  taken  up  from  C  to  H,  and  the  steam  shovel  run  back 
to  C  to  begin  the  second  cut,  Fig.  42,  excavating  it  in  the  same 
way  as  the  first,  and  loading  on  the  temporary  main  track.  This 
track  again  is  taken  up  after  the  second  cut,  the  machine  begins 


F/g.4l. 


5$ 
V 


F/g.42. 

at  D  and  ends  at  G  for  the  third  cut  and  loads  on  the  pit  track 
in  the  second  cut;  the  fourth  cut  is  made  in  a  similar  way,  the 
machine  beginning  at  E  and  ending  at  F,  Fig.  36.  The  fifth 
and  last  cut  is  merely  a  widening  cut,  made  by  loading  on  the 
track  in  the  pit  of  the  fourth  cut.  The  material  of  each  cut 
after  the  first  is  loaded  on  the  track  laid  in  the  preceding  cut. 
After  the  completion  of  the  last  cut,  the  permanent  subgrade 
having  been  reached,  the  main  track  is  laid  on  the  permanent 
line,  and  the  small  quantity  of  material  obtained  from  cutting 
the  ditches  loaded  on  cars  by  hand  and  taken  away  for  unload- 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AXD  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 


31 


ing.     The  most  frequent  depth  of  cut  made  at  the  summit  of 
grades  is  about  10  ft.  (two  cuts),  Figs.  38  and  39. 

When  the  main  track  is  on  a  curve,  as  frequently  happens, 
an  extra  cut  can  often  be  avoided  by  slightly  changing  the  aline- 
ment  of  the  new  main  track,  and  at  the  same  time  reducing  the 
degree  of  curvature,  as  shown  by  Figs.  42  1-2  and  43.  This 


is  particularly  applicable  where  an  odd  number  of  cuts  must 
be  taken  to  reach  the  bottom  of  the  new  grades.  The  dipper 
will  cut  to  a  slope  of  about  i  to  i.  When  greater  slopes  are  re- 
quired, it  must  be  done  by  hand  or  undercutting  resorted  to, 
Sloping  by  hand  is  slow  and  expensive  work,  impracticably  so 
in  all  tenacious  materials ;  it  has  therefore  become  the  exception, 


Main 
Track 


\ 


New  Main  TmcR 
F/g.4-3. 


Track 


fig,**. 


T™<*          FigA5. 

and  undercutting  the  rule.  Cuts  made  in  the  latter  manner 
sometimes  present  a  rather  ragged  appearance  when  just  com- 
pleted, but  the  irregularities  soon  merge  into  a  smooth  surface 
as  the  action  of  the  elements  produces  the  natural  slope  of  the 
material ;  the  smaller  cost  amply  compensates  for  the  temporary 
lack  of  finished  appearances.  The  amount  of  hand  labor  neces- 


32        STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 

sary  where  undercutting  is  not  practiced  is  shown  by  the  sec- 
tions A  in  Figs.  38  and  41.  This  can  be  entirely  avoided  by 
undercutting  the  slopes,  as  shown  in  Figs.  39  and  42;  the  sec- 
tions B  will  slough  off  within  a  year  or  two  and  most  of  the 
material  lodge  in  the  spaces  C;  a  small  part  of  this  material 
may  roll  to  the  bottom  of  the  cut,  and  can  be  removed  by  load- 
ing on  cars  by  hand,  or  space  may  be  provided  for  it  by  making 
the  cut  a  few  feet  wider  at  the  bottom.  In  most  cuts  for  re- 


7» 


Fig.  46. 

ducing  grades  this  extra  width  must  be  cut  out  anyhow  to 
provide  room  for  both  steam  shovel  and  loading  track. 

In  reducing  grades  on  railways  with  a  traffic  too  heavy  to 
permit  loading  on  the  main  track,  a  temporary  main  track 
must  first  be  built  by  one  of  the  methods  shown  in  Figs.  23,  24 
and  25.  The  temporary  main  track,  A,  Figs.  44,  45  and  46,  is 
then  laid,  as  shown  in  Fig.  28,  to  carry  the  traffic  of  the  road 
unobstructed.  The  main  track  then  becomes  the  loading  track 
for  the  first  cut,  and  the  following  cuts  are  made  as  shown  in 


Fig.  48, 

Figs.  44,  45  and  46.  The  temporary  main  track,  A,  is  moved 
to  a  second  position,  B,  when  the  material  under  it  must  be 
cut  away.  Great  care  should  be  taken  to  arrange  the  cuts  so 
that  the  temporary  main  track  will  have  to  be  moved  as  few 
times  as  possible,  and  to  attain  the  lowest  level  when  it  is 
moved.  In  loose  gravel  or  sandy  materials  wider  bermes  and 
longer  slopes  must  be  allowed  for  the  shelf  on  which  the  tem- 
porary main  track  rests  than  are  shown  in  the  above  figures, 
but  the  method  of  doing  the  work  is  essentially  the  same. 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK.  33 

If  the  depth  of  the  original  cut  in  tenacious  materials  exceed 
the  height  which  the  dipper  can  reach,  and  break  down  the  ma- 
terial above  it,  the  cuts  are  arranged  as  shown  in  Figs.  47,  48 
and  49     Temporary  loading  tracks,  L,  are  built  on  the  side  < 
the  slope   and  the  first  cut  on  each  side  made  by  loading  on 
them-    the   following  cuts  are  then   made,  as   shown  on  1 
figures     If  the  main  line  traffic  is  very  heavy,  it  is  turned  over 
the  temporary  main  track,  A,  Fig.  47,  until  the  cut  is  completed. 


The  original  cuts  are  not  often  more  than  10  ft.  deep,  and  the 
section  shown  in  Fig.  45  covers  the  majority  of  cases. 

On  double-track  railways  the  traffic  in  both  directions  is  gen- 
erally turned  over  one  track  for  the  length  of  the  new  cut, 
thereby  avoiding  considerable  expense  in  providing  two 
porary  main  tracks. 

Each  different  piece  of  work  presents  different  conditions; 
and  while  the  same  general  principles  apply  to  all,  every  case 


Fig.  50. 

Prvposed  New  Main  TnxJi_ 


Fig.  51 


requires  disposition  according  to  its  own  special  circumstances. 
Great  care  and  study  should  be  exercised  in  arranging  the  cuts, 
to  reduce  them  to  the  fewest  possible  number,  and  avoid  shift 
ing,  taking  up  and  relaying  tracks  oftener  than  absolutely  neces- 
sary. 

Construction  Work.— On  railways  the  steam  shovel 
mostly  in  connection  with  maintenance  of  way  work:  loading 
gravel  for  ballasting  the  track,  widening  cuts,  filling  trestles,  etc., 


34  STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 

but  it  is  also  largely  used  for  various  construction  work,  par- 
ticularly re-alinements  of  the  main  track  for  reducing  grades 
and  curvature.  In  excavation  of  this  class,  thorough  cutting 
should  be  avoided  if  possible,  for  reasons  which  will  be  subse- 
quently explained.  The  work  is  begun  by  laying  a  temporary 
track,  A,  Figs.  50,  51  and  52,  over  the  surface  of  the  ground  if 
its  natural  grade  is  not  too  steep  to  permit  operating  construc- 
tion trains  over  it.  Grades  up  to  6  per  cent.  (316.8  ft.  per  mile) 


'~ '^Proposed'' 

^Main  Tracff 


Fig.  52, 


can  be  used.  A  mogul  engine  will  draw  six  empty  flats  over 
such  a  grade,  a  sufficient  number  of  cars  to  start  the  work  for 
the  short  cuts  near  the  summit.  The  cuts  are  then  made  as 
indicated  in  Fig.  52. 

If  the  grade  of  the  ground  is  too  steep  to  operate  a  track  laid 
on  it,  one  of  the  three  methods  may  be  adopted  to  obtain  a 
grade  for  this  track : 

i.  The  steam  shovel  is  made  to  cut  a  trench  between  the 


Fig.  53. 


points  A  and  B,  Fig.  53,  where  the  slope  of  the  ground  is  too 
steep  to  permit  operating  a  track  laid  on  its  surface,  and  vary- 
ing in  depth  from  5  to  10  ft.  as  may  be  necessary  to  attain  the 
desired  grade.  The  excavated  material  is  dumped  at  D,  Fig. 
54,  to  be  removed  with  the  next  cut.  The  length  of  the  crane 
will  not  permit  dumping  at  E  a  sufficient  distance  (20  ft.  or 
more)  to  obtain  a  berme  and  prevent  the  material  washing  back 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 

3  the  new  cut  in  the  course  of  time;  it  must,  therefore,  be 
dumped  at  D  and  removed  as  described,  unless  the  slope  of 
the  ground  is  away  from  the  cut,  as  indicated  by  the  line  D  F, 


\  \  N          __     \ ( 

*" '      "  x 


^       12^   \       H™ 


V 


^  \^ (        /^- 

/   -,th      //  ^ 


, 


\^26*  A—  -i-- 
Fig.  54:  in  such  a  case  the  excavated  material  can  be  dumped 

at2F'Bv  excavating  the  trench  with  teams  and  scrapers 

3'.  By  through-cutting  a  trench  with  the  steam  shovel,  load- 


ing the  material  on  small  dump  cars  or  wagons,  and  wasting 
it  at  the  nearest  available  place. 

After  the  first  loading  track  has  been  laid  in  this  trench,  tl 
cuts  are  made  as  indicated  in  Fig,  54- 


36 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK, 


When  the  slope  of  the  ground  is  too  steep  to  permit  a  track 
to  be  laid  on  it  which  can  be  operated,  or  to  cut  a  trench  for 
it,  as  frequently  occurs  when  the  excavation  passes  through  a 
high  spur  or  knoll,  Figs.  55,  56  and  57,  the  steam  shovel 
mounted  on  standard  gage  railway  tracks  cannot  be  used,  and 
a  machine  independent  of  a  railway  track  for  transportation 
must  be  employed.  It  is  started  at  A,  Figs.  56  and  57,  loading 
small  dump  cars  drawn  by  horses,  and  dumping  at  the  nearest 


Fig.  59. 


Fig.  59. 


available  place  outside  of  the  lines  of  the  new  cut,  as  at  D,  Figs. 
56  and  57.  Sometimes  wagons  are  used  if  the  cuts  near  the  top 
are  short  and  not  very  deep,  so  that  a  temporary  standard  gage 
track  can  soon  be  run  through  the  cut,  and  the  material  loaded 
on  cars.  The  dumping  track  at  D  is  changed  to  E  F,  etc.,  Fig. 
57,  as  the  machine  cuts  lower,  maintaining  a  descending  grade 
from  the  steam  shovel. 


-^^?W//////W/////lllf/|!III!W 


Fig.  60. 

In  cases  of  this  kind  it  is  often  necessary  to  run  the  steam 
shovel  up  a  very  steep  grade  to  reach  the  point  where  it  is  to 
begin  work.  This  can  readily  be  done  by  attaching  one  end 
of  a  one  and  a  half  inch  rope  to  a  strong  tree  and  winding  the 
other  end  around  the  driving  axle.  Then  starting  the  running 
gear  the  machine  can  be  drawn  up  grades  where  it  could  not 
otherwise  propel  itself.  As  a  precautionary  measure,  it  is  ad- 
visable to  use  at  least  two  ropes. 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 


37 


A   combination  of  all   these   methods   sometimes  becomes 
necessary,  as  shown  in  Figs.  58  and  59.    The  material  in  the 
knoll   K   Fig   s8,  is  loaded  on  small  dump  cars  and  unloaded 
at  1  neareS  available  place.     When  this  knoll  has  been  cut 
down  sufficiently,  and  trenches  cut  between  A  B  and  CD, 
the  track  A  B  C  D  is  built,  and  the  excavation  proceeded  with, 
as  heretofore  described.    The  high  points  B,  K  and  C  are 
down  first  until  the  grade  of  the  loading  track  between  B  and 
C  is  parallel  to  the  grade  of  the  proposed  new  mam  track.  I 
nearly  100  ft.  in  depth  and  a  mile  in  length  have  been  excavate, 
in  this  manner.    Two  and  often  three  steam  shovels  are  em- 
ployed at  the  same  time,  working  near  the  ends  of 
until  the  through  track  has  been  laid,  and  then  following  each 
other,  as  shown  in  Fig.  60.     As  soon  as  possible    a  through 
track  should  always  be  laid,  as  it  greatly  increases  the  capacity 
for  the  prompt  and  efficient  handling  of  the  cars. 


Fig.62. 

Enough  side  tracks  for  storing  both  empty  and  loaded  cars 
should  be  built  close  to  the  work,  where  they  can  be  reached 
without  going  out  on  the  main  track.     Sometimes  the  pit  track 
behind  the  steam  shovels  are  utilized  for  this  purpose,  but  tl 
tracks  are  taken  up  too  often,  and  should  not  be  depended  upon 
for  side  tracks,  though  they  may  be  used  as  such  occasionally. 

In  through-cutting  the  material  is  loaded   on   small  dump 
cars  running  on  tracks  of  about  3  ft.  gage,  drawn  by  horses 
and  wasted  on  some  side  hill  or  other  nearest  available  place 
this  haul  seldom  exceeds  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  length. 
61     the  empty  dump  cars  standing  at  A  are  drawn  over  1 
cross-over  C  by  a  horse,  to  be  loaded  at  B;  then  run  to  D,  and 
when  from  four  to  six  cars  have  been  loaded  they  are  taken  t. 
the  dumping  place  and  unloaded;  then  returned  to  A. 


38  STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 

In  loose  materials  considerable  time  is  lost  in  waiting  from 
the  time  the  loaded  car  is  run  to  D  and  the  next  empty  brought 
from  A  to  B.  In  tenacious  materials  not  nearly  so  much  time 
is  lost,  as  the  dipper  cannot  be  filled  so  rapidly.  This  loss  of 
time  is  largely  avoided  by  arranging  double  loading  tracks, 
Fig.  62,  one  on  each  side  of  the  steam  shovel,  and  connected 
to  a  central  track  for  empties  by  the  cross-over  C  and  C  and 
switches  S  and  S'.  Two  horses  are  used,  one  on  each  side  of 
the  central  track,  to  bring  forward  the  empty  cars  from  A  to 
B,  and  A  to  B',  and  return  them  to  D  and  D';  these  operations 
are  alternately  performed,  each  empty  car  on  one  loading  track 
being  brought  forward  while  the  other  is  being  loaded.  The 
cross-overs  C  and  C'  should  be  kept  close  to  the  rear  of  the 
steam  shovel,  and  as  it  advances  they  must  be  taken  up  and 
relaid;  this  becomes  necessary  about  once  in  three  days  in  soft 
materials  and  about  once  a  week  in  hard  stuff. 

Portable  sections  of  tracks,  switches  and  cross-overs  are  gen- 
erally used  between  the  points  A  and  B,  and  can  be  relaid  very 
quickly. 

Standard  gage  railway  cars  cannot  be  used  in  thorough  cut- 
ting, as  the  track  cannot  be  laid  in  front  of  a  point  at  right 
angles  to  the  post  of  the  steam  shovel,  and  when  the  track  ends 
there  the  crane  cannot  swing  back  far  enough  to  load  the  car. 
Thorough  cutting  should  be  avoided  if  possible,  the  cost  due 
to  the  loss  of  time  in  switching  cars,  relaying  tracks,  extra 
horses  and  men,  etc.,  makes  it  more  expensive  than  excavating 
from  a  side  cut. 

In  excavating  canals,  harbor  and  dockwork,  stripping  coal- 
fields, stone  quarries,  grading  for  new  city  additions,  and  other 
work  not  connected  with  a  railway,  as  well  as  railway  construc- 
tion and  re-alinement  work  which  is  inaccessible  to  a  railway 
track  in  its  early  stages,  the  general  manner  of  using  the  steam 
shovel  is  the  same  as  for  railway  work;  varying  only  in  details, 
depending  upon  the  means  of  disposing  of  the  loaded  material, 
by  wagons,  carts  or  dump  cars,  and  the  use  or  waste  of  this  ma- 
terial. 

Although  the  steam  shovel  is  employed  mostly  on  railway 
work,  it  is  not  exclusively  a  railway  machine.  It  is  already 
largely  used  on  other  work,  and  its  use  in  this  direction  is 
rapidly  extending,  especially  on  the  increasing  number  of  ex- 
tensive public  works  in  the  vicinity  of  large  cities. 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVSL   V\  OTtK.  39 


The  most  economical  height  of  cut  varies  greatly  with  the 
nature  of  the  material.  In  dry  clay,  loam  and  other  dry  ma- 
terials which  can  be  broken  down  readily  with  a  bar  or  iron 
pointed  pole  (Fig.  17),  cuts  of  25  to  30  ft.  in  height  are  usually 
taken.  In  harder  and  more  tenacious  materials  it  should  not 
exceed  the  height  to  which  the  dipper  can  be  raised,  14  to  20  ft., 
varying  with  the  size  of  the  machine.  In  sand  and  loose  gravel 
which  easily  falls  down  to  the  machine  heights  up  to  60  ft.  are 
common,  and  side-hill  cuts  in  loose  gravel  up  to  300  ft.  in  height 
have  been  taken.  In  such  cases,  and  also  in  the  removal  of 
landslides,  great  care  must  be  taken  to  avoid  an  avalanche  of 
the  material  burying  the  machine  when  the  toe  of  the  slope  is 
cut  away.  The  pit  track  should  always  be  kept  close  up  to  the 
sections  of  track  under  the  steam  shovel,  so  that  it  can  be 
quickly  withdrawn  when  necessary.  As  a  general  rule,  the 
higher  the  cut  the  better,  as  the  machine  can  then  load  the  great- 
est amount  of  material  between  each  advance,  and  lose  the  least 
possible  amount  of  time.  Each  forward  move  of  the  machine 
requires  from  three  to  ten  minutes,  depending  upon  the  height 
of  blocking,  if  any,  it  is  working  on;  this  is  a  dead  loss,  as  no 
cars  or  wagons  can  be  loaded  during  that  interval. 

Powder  and  dynamite  are  frequently  used  to  good  advantage 
to  shatter  the  harder  materials  before  excavating.  When  thus 
broken  up  about  twice  the  amount  of  these  materials  can  be 
loaded  in  a  day.  Great  care  must  be  exercised  in  the  quantity 
of  the  explosive  used,  and  in  the  location  of  the  drill  holes  to 
prevent  injury  to  the  steam  shovel.  The  explosives  should  be 
stored  in  a  safe  place,  preferably  in  a  vault  at  some  distance  from 
the  place  where  they  are  to  be  used. 

The  use  of  dynamite  is  confined  mostly  to  bowlders,  ledges 
of  rock  and  stumps  of  trees,  while  powder  is  generally  used  for 
hardpan,  shale,  slate,  cemented  gravel  and  hard  clays.  For  the 
latter  materials  dvnamite  is  usually  too  powerful,  as  instead  of 
merely  lifting  and  loosening  them,  as  desired,  it  shatters  shale 
and  slate  into  fragments,  and  compresses  the  other  materials 
about  it,  forming  a  "cistern"  from  3  to  5  ft.  in  diameter,  as  shown 
in  Fig.  63.  Sometimes  small  quantities  of  it  are  used  specially 
for  this  purpose  to  make  room  for  a  large  charge  of  powder  at 
the  bottom  of  the  drill  hole,  where  its  explosion  will  have  the 
most  effect  in  loosening  the  superincumbent  material.  A 
charge  of  one-quarter  to  one-half  of  an  ordinary  dynamite  cart- 


40 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 


ridge  will  usually  blow  out  a  "cistern"  large  enough  to  contain 
from  one-half  to  one  keg  of  powder,  Fig.  64. 

The  depths  of  the  drill  holes  in  these  materials  vary  from  4  to 
20  ft;  they  are  made  with  a  drill,  or,  in  the  softer  materials,  with 
an  auger  similar  to  a  plank  auger,  generally  about  2  ins.  di- 
ameter, with  extension  pieces  for  deep  holes,  as  shown  in  Fig. 
65.  Crowbars  and  wooden  and  iron  wedges  are  also  often  used 
in  breaking  down  overhanging  material  when  it  cannot  quite 
be  reached  by  the  dipper. 

The  excavation  of  materials  for  which  powder  or  dynamite 
are  used  to  loosen  them  requires  a  powerful  machine,  with  a 
strongly  built,  medium  size  dipper.  A  small  or  lightly  built 
machine  giving  good  satisfaction  in  soft  materials  would  prove 
an  utter  failure  here. 


Fig.  65. 


Assuming  good  management  and  a  competent  crew,  the 
daily  output  of  a  steam  shovel  depends  mostly  upon  the  nature 
of  the  material  excavated;  it  is  also  somewhat  dependent  upon 
the  height  and  width  of  the  face  of  the  cutting,  and  largely  upon 
the  facilities  for  disposing  of  the  loaded  material,  and  keeping 
the  machine  almost  constantly  at  work  by  an  ample  supply  of 
empty  cars  and  wagons.  Although  these  varying  conditions 
differ  on  each  piece  of  work,  the  probable  output  of  a  machine 
for  a  given  excavation  can  be  closely  estimated  by  good  judg- 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 


41 


ment  based  on  previous  experience  with  similar  work.  The 
average  daily  output  in  different  kinds  of  materials,  and  under 
average,  favorable  and  unfavorable,  conditions,  as  described 
above,  is  shown  in  Table  II.: 


TABLE  II. 


Capacity  of    Delay, 
dipoer.       hours.'* 
.  yds..     .    1     Good. 
5     Poor . 
m  Avg. . 
1     Good. 
5     Poor . 
2K  Avg. 
1     Good 


l&cu.  yds. 


1     cu.  yd.. 


5     Poor . 
..  2V*  Avg.. 


Sand.  Loose  gravel.  Dry  loam.  Dry  clay.  Damp  clay. 

Cu.  yds.      Cu.  yds.         Cu.  yds.  Cu.  yds.      Cu.  yds. 

2  000  1.800               1,200 

1,000  900                  600 

1,500  1,350                  900 

1,200  1,000                 800 


2,400 
1,200 
1,800 
1,600 


800 

1,200 

1,000 

500 

750 


2,400 

1,200 

1,800 

1,600 

800 

1,200 

1,000 

500 

750 


600 
900 
800 
400 


500 
750 
700 
350 
525 


400 
600 
500 
250 
375 


The  delay  in  hours  is  the  time  loet  in  moving  forward  and  waiting  for  empty  cars. 
TABLE  II.— Continued. 


Capacity  of 
dipper.       1 
2^cu.yds  

Delay, 
lours.* 
1     Good  . 
5     Poor  . 

1     Good" 
5     Poor  . 
2V*  Avg.. 
1     Good. 
5     Poor. 
214  Avg.  . 

Stiff  blue 
clay. 
Cu.  yds. 
800 
400 
600 
600 
300 
450 
400 
200 
300 

,  Loosened  by  explosives.  
Hard       Mixed  clay       Loose       Cemente< 
pan.     and  boulders,      rock.           gravel. 
Cu.  yds.       Cu.  yds.      Cu.  yds.     Cu.  yds. 
600                 600                 600                600 
300                 300                 300                300 
450                 450                 450                 450 
400                 400                 400                 400 
200                 200                 200                 200 
300                 300                 300                 300 
300                 300                 300                 300 
150                 150                 150                 150 
225                225                 225                 225 

m  cu.4  yds! 
1     cu.  yd.. 

!!! 

*  The  delay  in  hours  is  tbe  time  lost  in  moving  forward  and  waiting  for  empty  cars. 

Part  III. — Disposition  of  Material. 

Loading  the  Material  for  Transportation. — The  material  ex- 
cavated by  a  steam  shovel  is  loaded  on  cars,  wagons  or  carts. 
On  railway  work  it  is  usually  loaded  on  dump  or  flat  cars.  On 
other  construction  work  small  dump  cars  are  most  generally 
used,  and  sometimes  wagons  or  carts. 


Fig. 66. 


Fig. 67. 


Fig. 68. 


Fig.  69. 


Fig.73. 


Standard  gage  railway  dump  cars,  Figs.  66  and  67,  have 
nearly  gone  out  of  use.  They  were  replaced  by  the  center  ridge 
flat  car.  Figs.  68  and  69,  and  it  in  turn  has  been  replaced  by  the 
ordinary  flat  car.  Dump  cars  are  of  two  styles,  dumping  either 
by  tipping.  Fig.  66,  or  by  means  of  a  hinged  sideboard  opening 
on  an  inclined  floor,  Fig.  67.  Both  are  heavy,  clumsy,  costly 


42         STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 

and  can  be  used  for  scarcely  any  other  purpose,  often  standing 
idle  from  six  to  eight  months  of  the  year.  They  dump  dry  ma- 
terials very  rapidly,  but  are  often  slow  in  discharging  damp, 
tenacious  materials,  especially  in  the  hinged  sideboard  car, 
whose  floor  slope  is  often  not  sufficient  to  permit  the  material 
to  slip  out  quickly,  and  the  material  must  then  be  pushed  out, 
thus  causing  much  delay.  The  greatest  objection  to  these  cars 
is  that  they  can  be  used  for  scarcely  any  other  purpose,  on  most 
railways  for  no  other  purpose;  and  there  is  not  sufficient  work 
for  them  to  justify  keeping  the  necessary  number  on  hand  for 
the  ordinary  work  in  this  line.  They  were  replaced  by  the 
center  ridge  car,  Figs.  68  and  69,  as  above  noted,  which  is 
merely  an  ordinary  flat  car  with  a  timber  4  by  6  ins.  bolted  on 
its  floor  along  the  center  line,  serving  as  a  guide  for  a  plow, 
Fig.  70,  drawn  over  it  by  the  locomotive,  thereby  unloading  the 
material.  The  ridge  timber  is  slightly  pointed  at  both  ends  to 
assist  in  guiding  the  plow  onto  the  car  as  it  passes  from  one 


Fig.70.  Fig.72. 

car  to  another.  The  top  edges  of  the  ridge  are  sometimes  pro- 
tected by  angle  irons,  as  in  Fig.  71,  and  the  points  by  cast  iron 
caps,  Fig.  72.  By  taking  off  the  center  ridge  this  car  can 
readily  be  restored  to  general  service  after  completing  tlie  steam 
shovel  work.  The  center  dump  car,  shown  in  Fig.  73,  is  used 
only  for  gravel  ballasting  where  the  material  is  wanted  delivered 
between  the  rails. 

The  brakes  are  placed  on  one  side  of  the  car,  as  shown  in 
Figs.  74  and  75.  When  boulders,  loose  rock,  etc.,  are  to  be 
unloaded,  the  brake  staff  is  set  in  a  socket,  Fig.  76,  and  taken 
out  before  the  plow  is  started.  This  avoids  bending  or  break- 
ing the  staff  in  case  any  stone  should  be  wedged  between  it  and 
the  moving  plow.  Sometimes  the  socket  is  used  with  the  brake 
at  its  ordinary  place  at  the  end  of  the  car;  in  such  a  case  it 
must  always  be  taken  out  before  the  plow  reaches  it. 

The  plow,  Fig.  70,  is  built  of  heavy  plate  and  angle  iron, 
strongly  braced,  and  headed  by  a  cast  steel  point,  to  which  the 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 


43 


cable  is  attached.  The  sides  are  curved  outward  at  the  bottom, 
working  under  the  material  and  pushing  it  aside  as  the  plow  is 
drawn  along,  and  held  down  on  the  car  by  the  weight  of  the 
material  and  the  partly  downward  pull  of  the  cable  at  its  point. 
Short  pieces  of  old  rails  and  other  scrap  iron  are  also  often 
placed  on  the  plow  to  help  hold  it  down  on  the  car  when  very 
tenacious  materials  are  to  be  unloaded.  The  groove  extending 
along  the  center  line  on  the  bottom  fits  over  the  ridge  timber 
on  the  car,  and  forms  the  guide  by  which  its  movement  is  di- 
rected. Small  stones,  protruding  bolts,  slivered  ridge  timbers 
and  other  obstructions  in  the  groove  of  the  plow  sometimes 
wedge  the  point  fast,  and  before  the  engine  can  be  stopped,  the 
plow  is  turned  up  on  its  point,  and  falling  to  either  side,  tumbles 
off  the  car.  The  weight  and  elasticity  of  the  cable  is  often  suffi- 
cient to  draw  the  plow  half  a  car-length  after  the  engine  has 
been  stopped,  and  it  is  often  difficult  to  stop  the  plow  quick 


-i- 


Fig.  75. 


enough  to  prevent  upsetting  when  obstructions  occur,  although 
the  speed  is  usually  only  two  to  three  miles  per  hour.  The  un- 
loading nearly  always  occurs  on  trestles  or  embankments,  and 
wrhen  the  plow  is  thrown  off  the  car,  its  replacement  often  re- 
quires much  time  and  labor,  sometimes  even  making  the  services 
of  the  wrecking  car  necessary.  This  difficulty  is  very  likely  to 
occur  when  unloading  on  curves,  where  one  side  of  the  point 
of  the  groove  presses  against  the  ridge  timber.  This  plow  un- 
loads the  material  equally  on  both  sides  of  the  car,  as  it  is 
wanted  in  filling  trestles,  raising  embankments,  tracks,  etc.;  but 
it  cannot  be  used  to  advantage  where  the  material  is  wanted  on 
one  side  only,  as  in  widening  embankments  for  double  track, 
side  tracks,  yards,  station  grounds,  etc. 

The  many  objections  to  the  center  ridge  car  are  almost  en- 
tirely avoided  by  tfie  use  of  the  Barnhart  plow,  Fig.  77,  employ- 
ing the  ordinary  flat  car  without  any  preparations  except  chang- 


44  STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 

ing  the  brake  staffs  to  one  side  or  placing  them  in  sockets  at 
their  ordinary  places  and  inserting  short  stakes  in  the  stake 
pockets,  permitting  the  immediate  use  of  the  car  for  general 
service  if  necessity  should  so  require.  This  plow  is  also  built  of 
heavy  plate  and  angle  irons,  strongly  braced,  and  headed  by  a 
cast  steel  point  to  which  the  cable  is  attached;  it  is  preceded 
and  followed  by  guiding  sleds  attached  to  it  by  adjustable  hinges 
and  guided  over  the  car  by  the  stakes  in  the  stake  pockets, 
which  are  indicated  by  the  dotted  lines.  The  usual  speed  at 


Fig.77.  Fiq.78. 

which  it  is  drawn  over  the  car  is  about  four  miles  per  hour,  but 
in  loose  gravel  it  can  safely  be  drawn  at  a  speed  of  six  miles 
per  hour.  On  straight  track  it  is  scarcely  ever  thrown  off  the 
car  unless  carelessly  handled,  and  it  works  equally  well  on 
curves  when  the  usual  means  are  adopted  to  maintain  a  tan- 
gential pull  of  the  cable,  as  will  be  subsequently  described.  Two 
styles  of  the  Barnhart  plow  are  in  use:  One  unloading  on  both 
sides  of  the  car,  and  called  the  center  plow,  Fig.  77^  and  the 
other  unloading  on  one  side  only  and  called  the  side  plow, 
Fig.  78. 


Fig  .79. 

On  all  but  very  small  pieces  of  work  the  cars  should  be  pro- 
vided with  hinged  drop  sideboards,  Fig.  79,  using  either  of  the 
arrangements  shown  in  Figs.  80  and  81,  which  will  enable  them 
to  carry  12  to  14  cu.  yds.  instead  of  6  or  7.  The  side  boards 
are  made  in  two  pieces  on  each  side  of  the  car,  Fig.  79.  Those 
shown  in  Fig.  80  are  used  for  both  center  and  side  plows;  they 
can  be  quickly  dropped  by  a  man  walking  along  the  train,  after 
arriving  at  the  unloading  place  and  striking  the  hook  A  an 
upward  blow  with  a  light  hammer.  The  boards  are  hooked  up 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 


45 


again  after  the  cars  have  been  returned  to  the  steam  shovel  pit. 
The  side  boards  shown  in  Fig.  81  are  used  where  the  side  plow 
only  is  used.  Here  the  board  on  one  side  only  (the  unloading 
side)  is  hinged  (or  chained),  and  dropped  by  pulling  out  the  pin 
B,  thus  leaving  that  side  of  the  car  entirely  unobstructed  for 
unloading  the  material ;  the  board  on  the  other  side  of  the  car  is 
bolted  to  the  stake  pocket  and  is  not  moved. 

The  cars  should  also  be  provided  with  sheet  iron  aprons, 
Figs.  82  and  83,  extending  from  the  end  of  one  car  onto  the 
floor  of  the  next,  to  prevent  the  material  from  falling  on  the 
track  between  the  cars  as  the  plow  is  drawn  over  them,  and  de- 
laying the  departure  of  the  train  until  it  can  be  shoveled  out. 
These  aprons  are  made  either  in  two  pieces,  Fig.  82,  or  in  one 
piece  only,  Fig.  83.  The  former  are  more  easily  handled,  and 


Fig.  80. 


Rg.81. 


permit  access  to  the  coupling  of  the  cars  without  lifting  the 
apron.  Very  little  material  drops  on  the  track  when  the  aprons 
and  the  center  plow  are  used.  The  single  apron  is  used  mostly, 
in  connection  with  the  side  plow. 

The  number  of  cars  and  engines  required  for  each  steam 
shovel  to  keep  it  in  nearly  constant  operation  depends  upon  the 
nature  of  the  material  excavated,  the  length  of  haul,  and  the 
density  of  other  traffic  upon  the  main  line.  This  number  must 
be  determined  bv  accompanying  circumstances  in  each  case; 
ordinarily,  however,  it  averages  about  as  given  in  Table  III.: 


TABLE  III. 


In  the  steam 
^shovel  pit.-> 


the  road  up  to — 
25  miles.         50  miles.        75  miles. 


Loose  gravel 1  30 

Dry  clay 1  22 

Damp  stiff  clay I  18 

Hardpan,  cemented 
gravel,  etc.,  loos- 
ened by  explosives  1  16 


10  miles.         „ am 

Loco.  Cars.    Loco.  Cars.  Loco.  Cars.  Loco.  Cars.  Loco.  Cars. 


16 


46 


STBAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 


The  length  of  haul  usually  ranges  from  2  to  15  miles;  it  sel- 
dom exceeds  25  miles  for  any  material  except  gravel  ballast, 
where  hauls  of  75  miles  are  frequent,  and  sometimes  reach  200 
miles. 

On  hauls  exceeding  25  miles  the  full  number  of  cars  and  en- 
gines required  can  seldom  be  obtained,  and  the  output  of  the 


End  View. 


End  View. 


Plan. 


Rg.82.  Fig.83. 

steam  shovel  is  correspondingly  decreased.  The  delay  in  re- 
turning empty  cars  due  to  detentions  from  other  trains  is  the 
great  trouble  most  keenly  felt  in  steam  shovel  work  on  railways 
in  operation.  The  so-called  "mud  train"  is  generally  consid- 
ered an  outcast,  and  is  usually  the  last  train  to  receive  the  dis- 


Fig.  84- 


Fig.  85. 

patcher's  attention  for  an  order  to  the  road.  These  delays  are 
daily  occurrences,  and  it  is  quite  an  exceptional  case  when  the 
machine  is  amply  supplied  with  empty  cars.  The  record  of 
most'  steam  shovels  on  such  work  is  therefore  a  rather  poor  one, 
when  the  machine  really  made  a  good  showing  for  the  crippled 
condition  of  its  car  service.  Some  of  these  delavs  can  be 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK.  47 

avoided  or  shortened  by  stationing  a  telegraph  operator  at  the 
outgoing  end  of  the  pit,  and  on  all  but  very^  small  pieces  of  work 
his  wages  will  be  many  times  balanced  by  the  time  gained  in 
keeping  the  whole  plant  moving,  by  obtaining  train  orders 
quicker,  and  remaining  constantly  informed  of  the  whereabouts 
of  the  construction  and  other  trains,  and  regulating  the  work  in 
the  pit  accordingly. 

For  general  construction  work  where  the  excavated  material 
is  not  loaded  on  standard  gage  railway  cars,  small  dump  cars, 
Figs.  84  and  85,  are  generally  used.  They  are  more  econom- 
ical than  wagons  or  carts,  which  are  employed  only  in  special 
cases,  mostly  in  cities,  where  the  material  must  be  hauled  some 
distance  over  several  intersecting  streets,  and  where  a  track  will 
not  be  allowed;  or  for  very  small  jobs  with  a  long  haul  which 
would  not  justify  building  a  track. 

The  gage  of  these  tracks  is  usually  2  1-2  or  3  ft.,  sometimes 
2  ft.  or  even  11-2  ft.  only;  the  latter  gages  are  not  often  used, 
and  the  3-ft.  gage  is  usually  preferred. 

The  rails  most  generally  used  weigh  20  Ibs.  per  yd.  Al- 
though these  tracks  are  only  temporary  their  construction  should 
be  fairly  substantial;  but  they  are  often  built  in  an  exceedingly 
careless  and  insecure  manner,  causing  a  great  waste  of  power 
in  pulling  the  cars  over  them,  and  resulting  in  frequent  delays, 
due  to  derailments.  The  grade  is  usually  arranged  so  that  the 
loaded  cars  will  run  downhill  by  gravity,  and  only  the  empty 
cars  need  be  drawn  back  to  the  pit.  On  small  work,  horses  or 
mules  are  used  to  pull  the  cars,  but  on  large  jobs  small  loco- 
motives are  employed.  Small  dump  cars  vary  in  capacity  from 
i  to  3  cu.  yds.,  the  latter  size  being  most  generally  used.  The 
side  dump  car,  Fig.  84,  dumps  on  either  side.  The  rotary  dump 
car,  Fig.  85,  unloads  on  either  side  or  end;  the  box  can  be 
turned  around  horizontally,  revolving  about  a  vertical  pin  in  a 
turntable  on  the  frame ;  they  are  used  mostly  in  dumping  off  the 
end  of  a  fill. 

In  making  fills  it  is  nearly  always  the  best  plan  to  build  a 
temporary  trestle  of  round  pieces  of  beech,  cottonwood  or  other 
cheap  trees,  old  bridge  or  building  timber,  or  other  second-class 
lumber,  and  then  filling  in  with  the  side  dump  cars.  By  adopt- 
ing this  plan  the  unloading  will  progress  much  more  rapidly 
than  by  dumping  from  the  end  of  a  fill,  where  only  one  car  at  a 
time  can  be  unloaded.  These  trestles  are  inexpensive,  and  the 


48         STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 

saving  in  labor  and  time  in  making  the  fill  will  amply  repay 
their  cost. 

Unloading  the  Material. — On  railways  the  unloading  is  sel- 
dom done  by  slow  and  expensive  hand  labor  with,  the  shovel ; 
sometimes  dump  cars  are  employed,  but  in  most  cases  flat  cars 
and  the  plow  are  used.  The  trains  consist  of  10  to  30  cars.  The 
car  carrying  the  plow  is  attached  to  the  rear  of  the  train  at  the 
nearest  side  track  to  the  unloading  place,  if  it  is  not  over  10 
miles  from  the  steam  shovel  pit  this  car  is  generally  carried 
back  and  forth  to  avoid  an  extra  stop  to  couple  it  on  the  train 
at  the  side  track.  One  end  of  a  steel  wire  cable  is  then  hooked 
to  the  plow  and  the  other  end  (which  is  attached  to  an  ordinary 
car  coupling  link)  coupled  to  fl  car  or  the  engine.  Usually  this 
cable  is  about  400  ft.  long  and  extends  over  12  cars.  The 


Fig.  86. 


vs.: ;: ;  Vc  ;-.v.v.v.v.:,v.wv.  V  -  i  v.  v.s 

Fig.  87 


Fig.  88. 


Fig.  89. 

brakes  on  these  cars  are  then  set  up  tight  and  the  engine  started 
with  the  forward  cars,  Fig.  86.  In  very  tenacious  or  partially 
frozen  material  the  rear  cars  are  sometimes  pulled  along  by  the 
plow;  the  wheels  are  then  blocked  v  ith  pieces  of  wood  or  with 
stones;  sometimes  it  is  even  necessary  to  chain  a  few  of  these 
cars  to  the  track  to  prevent  the  rear  lot  of  cars  from  moving. 
After  the  plow  has  been  started,  it  is  drawn  along  slowly  until 
it  arrives  on  the  last  car,  Fig.  87.  The  engine  is  then  stopped 
and  backed  up  a  few  feet  to  permit  the  cable  to  be  thrown  on 
one  side  of  the  track,  Fig.  88.  The  train  is  then  backed  up 
again  and  coupled  to  the  unloaded  cars,  when  four  to  six  men 
throw  the  cable  on  the  next  loaded  cars,  Fig.  89,  coupling  its 
forward  end  to  a  car  or  to  the  engine  if  the  cable  is  long 
-  enough.  The  operation  is  then  repeated  until  all  but  the  car 
next  to  the  engine  is  unloaded;  this  car  carries  the  plow  and  is 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 


49 


the  first  car  to  be  unloaded  by  the  next  train.  The  ends  of  the 
cable  are  then  detached  from  engine  and  plow,  thrown  to  one 
side  of  the  track,  and  left  there  for  the  next  train  to  pick  up 
and  use  in  the  same  manner. 

When  filling  a  trestle  the  cable  cannot  be  thrown  on  one 
side,  as  described,  but  must  be  unhooked  from  the  plow  (the  rear 
lot  of  cars  being  left  standing  on  the  trestle),  dragged  across 
the  trestle,  and  there  thrown  to  one  side.  The  forward  lot  of 
cars  is  then  backed  up  until  its  rear  car  is  opposite  the  rear  end 
of  the  cablq  when  it  is  loaded,  the  train  backed  up,  coupled  and 
unloaded,  as  before  described.  After  unloading  the  train  the 
cable  must  again  be  dragged  beyond  the  trestle,  and  there 
thrown  to  one  side  of  the  track  and  left  for  the  next  train.  The 
time  required  for  unloading  varies  from  10  to  30  minutes,  de- 


Fig.  91 


pending  upon  the  nature  of  the  material  and  the  number  of 
cars,  and  averages  about  20  minutes,  doing  as  much  work 
in  that  time  as  20  men  can  do  in  a  day. 

When  unloading  on  curves  the  operations  are  delayed  by 
the  necessity  of  using  snatch  blocks  on  the  cars  to  insure  a  nearly 
tangential  pull  of  the  cable  and  avoid  pulling  the  plow  off  the 
car.  These  blocks  are  applied  as  shown  in  Fig.  90,  and  at  A, 
Fig.  91.  They  are  hooked  to  long  chains  extending  over  the 
car  and  fastened  to  the  bolster  or  arch  bar  of  the  truck.  The 
number  of  snatch  blocks  required  depends  upon  the  degree  of 
the  curve  and  the  length  of  the  cable;  generally  four  to  six 
blocks,  one  to  every  third  car,  are  enough.  As  the  plow  ap- 
proaches one  of  these  blocks  it  must  be  stopped,  block  and 
chain  removed  and  transferred  forward  for  use  at  that  end  of 


50         STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 

the  train.  The  other  operations  of  unloading  are  the  same  as 
when  on  straight  track.  The  time  required  in  unloading  on 
curves  varies  from  20  minutes  to  an  hour,  and  averages  about 
40  minutes,  doing  as  much  work  in  that  time  as  20  men  can  do 
in  a  day. 

The  steel  wire  cables  used  vary  from  i  in.  to  I  1-2  ins.  diam- 
eter. The  former  are  used  for  unloading  loose  gravel  and 
sandy  material;  they  are  light  and  easily  handled,  but  cannot 
bear  much  jerking.  The  most  usual  size  is  I  1-4  ins.  diameter. 
Heavier  cables  require  too  many  men  (six  to  eight)  to  load  them 
on  the  car  preparatory  to  starting  the  plow. 

One  of  the  heaviest  locomotives  on  the  road  (preferably  one 
of  the  consolidation  type)  should  be  used  for  drawing  the  plow 
over  the  cars.  These  engines  are  generally  able  to  keep  the 
•plow  moving  with  a  strong  steady  pull,  avoiding  the  necessity 
of  taking  a  run  to  start  the  plow,  and  all  injurious  jerking  of 
the  cable2  which  frequently  breaks  it.  For  tenacious  materials 
and  where  the  haul  is  not  more  than  25  miles,  it  is  often  good 
policy  to  keep  one  heavy  engine  at  this  work,  the  other  engines 
merely  hauling  the  trains;  this  can  generally  be  arranged  so  that 
no  more  engines  are  used  than  if  each  engine  were  to  unload 
its  own  train.  Sometimes  two  light  engines  are  used  for  this 
purpose,  but  they  can  seldom  move  in  perfect  unison  and  more 
or  less  jerking  is  the  result.  Unfortunately  the  engines  for  the 
"mud  trains"  are  not  always  in  the  best  working  order;  they 
are  mostly  those  which  are  about  to  go  into  the  shops  for  turn- 
ing down  the  tires  or  for  general  repairs,  and  are  not  in  fit 
condition  for  general  traffic,  but  still  considered  good  enough 
for  this  service.  Expensive  delays  due  to  badly  working  en- 
gines are  frequently  the  result. 

The  locomotive  in  the  steam  shovel  pit  should  always  be 
equipped  with  a  steam  or  air  driver  brake  to  assist  in  quickly 
stopping  the  cars  at  exactly  the  right  place  when  setting  them 
for  loading  by  the  steam  shovel.  For  the  same  reason  the 
brakeman  should  be  allowed  to  use  short  sticks  in  the  brake- 
wheels  to  obtain  a  greater  leverage  in  turning  them. 

Both  engine  and  train  crews  should  be  changed  as  little  as 
possible  and  they  should  retain  their  respective  trains  in  the  pit 
on  the  road  or  at  the  dump.  Most  of  the  men  dislike  the  "mud 
train"  service,  but  some  (especiallv  the  older  ones)  are  glad  to 
<*et  a  steady  job  with  a  full  night's  rest,  and  these  are  the  men 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SFIOVKL  WORK.  51 

to  be  chosen.  They  take  an  interest  in  the  success  of  the  work, 
and  soon  acquire  an  expertness  in  handling  cars,  plows,  etc., 
that  makes  them  worth  twice  as  much  as  the  inexperienced  or 
unwilling  ones.  The  wages  of  these  men  should  be  equalized 
to  average  the  same  as  the  men  on  the  road  in  other  service, 
otherwise  dissatisfaction  and  indifference  are  sure  to  result. 

The  machine  shown  in  Fig.  92  has  lately  come  into  use  for 
pulling  the  plow  over  the  cars  to  unload  them.  -This  is  merely 
a  double  cylinder  (10  by  12  ins.)  reversible  hoisting  engine, 
resting  on  a  heavy  cast  iron  bedplate  attached  to  the  floor  of  a 
box  car.  Steam  is  supplied  to  the  engine  from  the  locomotive 
of  the  train,  which  is  coupled  to  this  car  when  the  unloading  is 
to  begin.  With  this  machine  there  is  no  injurious  jerking  of 
the  cable,  and  consequently  very  little  breakages  or  delays,  and 
heavy  loads  of  15  cu.  yds.  of  tenacious  material  are  readily 
plowed  off  the  cars  in  a  more  satisfactory  manner  than  can' be 
done  by  any  one  or  two  locomotives.  Blocking  the  wheels  or 


Fig.  92. 

chaining  cars  to  the  track  need  not  be  resorted  to ;  the  vdfs  can- 
not move,  for  the  machine  pulls  the  plow  toward  itself  and  the 
strain  is  resisted  by  the  cars  between  them.  If  it  is  desired  to 
scatter  small  quantities  of  material  along  the  track,  as  it  i$  often 
wanted  in  surfacing  or  raising  track,  both  plow  and  train  are 
moved  in  the  same  direction  at  the  same  or  varying  speeds,  as 
may  be  necessary  to  unload  the  required  amount  of  material. 
If  a  large  quantity  of  material  is  wanted  within  a  short  distance, 
as  usually  happens  on  washouts,  train  and  plow  are  moved  in 
opposite  directions.  By  moving  them  in  this  manner  at  the 
same  speed,  a  whole  train  can  be  unloaded  at  any  desired  spot. 
Where  two  locomotives  must  be  used  to  pull  the  plow  over  the 
cars,  the  use  of  this  machine  will  dispense  with  one  of  them, 
and  do  the  work  in  half  the  time.  On  large  jobs  it  should  not 
be  missingr.  The  cable  is  wound  amnnd  the  drum.  A,  Fig1.  92, 
and  must  be  long  enough  to  extend  over  the  whole  length  of 


52         STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 

the  train.  A  steel  wire  cable  i  1-8  ins.  diameter  is  generally 
used;  but  for  loose  gravel  a  i-in.  cable  is  amply  strong  enough. 

The  steam  shovel  can  be  operated  continuously  throughout 
the  year  in  all  kinds  of  weather^  though  operations  are  often  sus- 
pended in  extremely  cold  weather.  When  working  in  cold 
weather  the  face  of  the  bank  sometimes  freezes  during  the  night 
to  the  depth  of  3  to  6  ins.,  but  this  crust  is  easily  broken  in  the 
morning  by  a  few  small  charges  of  powder,  and  then  the  ma- 
terial can  be  excavated  as  easily  as  at  any  other  season. 

In  freezing  weather  the  floors  ot  the  cars  should  be  sprinkled 
with  brine  just  before  loading;  the  brine  is  kept  in  barrels  at  the 
head  of  the  machine,  and  one  man  using  an  ordinary  garden 


Fig.  93. 


Harris  &  Carter 
Spreader. 


FTg.94: 

sprinkling  can  is  detailed  for  the  work.  This  prevents  the  ma- 
terial from  freezing  to  the  floor  of  the  car  for  three  to  four 
hours,  and  allows  it  to  slip  off  readily  when  the  plow  is  put  in 
operation.  No  train  should  be  left  standing  over  night  without 
unloading.  The  brine  will  not  prevent  freezing  for  this  length 
of  time,  and  to  unload  one  car  of  the  frozen  stuff  requires  a  day's 
labor  of  four  to  six  men. 

Distributing  the  Material  After  Unloading. — In  widening 
embankments  for  side  tracks,  double  track,  yard  and  station 
grounds,  etc.,  the  material  is  unloaded,  as  described  above,  form- 
ing a  ridge  on  both  sides  of  the  track  if  unloaded  with  the 
center  plow,  or  on  one  side  of  the  track  only  if  unloaded  with  the 


STEAM   SHOVELS  AND  STEAM   SHOVEL   WORK. 


53 


side  plow.  This  material  is  sometimes  leveled  off  by  hand,  a 
very  slow  and  expensive  job,  but  generally  it  is  done  with  a  lev- 
eler  or  spreader,  Figs.  93  to  96. 

In  the  Harris  &  Carter  spreader,  Figs.  93  and  94,  the  car 
body  is  cut  away  between  the  trucks  to  receive  the  two  wings 
which  level  or  spread  the  material.  One  or  both  wings  can  be 
used,  and  they  can  be  raised  and  lowered  to  adjust  them  to  any 
height  of  new  embankment  wanted.  They  will  spread  the  ma- 
terial for  a  distance  of  3  ft.  from  the  rail.  When  shipping  the 
spreader  over  the  road  the  wings  are  drawn  up  by  a  hand  wind- 


F.g.95. 


Edson 
Spreader. 


Fig.96. 

lass,  revolving  about  hinges  fixed  to  the  braces  under  the  floor 
of  the  car,  as  shown  in  Fig.  94.  In  this  position  the  clearance 
is  the  same  as  that  of  an  ordinary  passenger  car. 

The  Edson  spreader,  Figs.  95  and  96,  has  only  one  wing, 
attached  to  an  ordinary  flat  car,  and  arranged  to  raise  and 
lower  to  adjust  it  to  any  height  of  new  embankment  wanted. 
The  wheel,  A,  bears  against  the  head  of  the  rail,  forming  a  brace 
where  one  is  most  needed,  and  greatly  assists  in  preventing  a 
derailment  when  hard  or  tenacious  materials  are  suddenly  en- 


54         STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK, 

countered.  The  wing,  braces,  windlass,  etc.,  are  so  constructed 
that  they  can  be  readily  removed  from  the  car,  thereby  restoring 
it  to  general  service  on  completion  of  the  work  in  hand.  This 
spreader  is  used  mostly  in  connection  with  the  side  plow;  it  will 
level  the  material  for  a  distance  of  15  ft.  from  the  rail,  wide 
enough  to  permit  laying  a  side  track  from  which  the  embank- 
ment can  be  further  widened.  Only  one  side  at  a  time  can  be 
widened  with  this  spreader.  If  it  is  desired  to  widen  the  em- 
bankment on  both  sides  of  the  track,  one  side  is  completed  first; 
the  cars  and  spreader  are  then  turned  around  on  the  nearest 
turntable  or  Y-track,  and  the  other  side  widened  by  drawing 
the  soreader  in  the  opposite  direction.  If  the  cars  are  not  pro- 
vided with  aprons  they  need  not  be  turned  around.  This 
spreader  is  generally  arranged  to  cut  about  6  ins.  below  the 
bottom  of  the  ties  of  the  main  track,  thereby  forming  the  sub- 
grade  for  the  side  track,  and  maintaining  proper  drainage  of 
the  main  track.  The  apron,  B,  is  bolted  on  the  spreader,  and 
serves  to  remove  any  loose  material  which  may  fall  on  the 
track  between  the  rail  and  the  ends  of  the  ties.  When  shipping 
the  spreader  over  the  road,  Fig.  96,  it  is  drawn  up  by  a  hand 
windlass  revolving  about  hinges  on  the  side  sill  of  the  car  and 
folded  down  on  it;  in  this  position  it  will  clear  anything  that 
other  cars  can  pass. 

The  cars  of  both  styles  of  spreaders  are  loaded  with  old  rails, 
frogs,  scrap  iron,  etc.,  to  hold  them  down  and  prevent  derail- 
ments when  hard  or  tenacious  materials  are  suddenly  encoun- 
tered. Loads  of  five  to  ten  tons  are  generally  sufficient,  though 
loads  up  to  15  tons  are  sometimes  required. 

Spreaders  are  usually  drawn  at  a  speed  of  six  to  eight  miles 
per  hour;  in  loose  gravel  the  speed  often  reaches  10  miles  per 
hour.  They  will  level  off  a  ridge  a  mile  in  length  in  six  to 
ten  minutes,  doing  as  much  work  in  that  time  as  100  men  can  do 
in  a  day. 

The  spreader  is  usually  stationed  in  the  nearest  side  track  to 
the  unloading  place.  Frequently  it  can  be  hauled  between  this 
track  and  the  dump  without  raising  it,  or  raising  it  only  par- 
tially to  clear  depot  platforms,  switch  stands  and  other  obstruc- 
tions and  thereby  avoid  the  necessity  of  folding  it  down  on  the 
car  while  passing  between  these  points. 

Ordinarily  the  spreading  is  done  by  the  last  train  before  the 
close  of  the  day.  In  cold  weather  or  on  short  dumps  it  must 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK.  55 

be  done  oftener;  either  to  prevent  freezing,  or  to  make  room  for 
the  unloading  material  which  would  otherwise  pile  up  too  high 
for  easy  spreading,  or  be  liable  to  roll  back  on  the  track  and 
obstruct  it  for  the  next  train.  In  using  the  spreader  it  is  coupled 
to  the  rear  of  the  car  carrying  the  plow,  and  after  the  train  has 
been  unloaded  it  is  pulled  over  the  length  of  the  ridge  of  ma- 
terial unloaded  from  its  own  and  preceding  trains,  as  shown 
in  Figs.  97  and  98. 

Part  IV.— Cost  of  Steam  Shovel  Work. 

The  cost  of  steam  shovel  work  varies  greatly  with  the  differ- 
ent conditions  affecting  each  piece  of  work.  It  depends  mainly 
upon  the  nature  of  the  material,  its  location,  the  capacity  and 
efficiency  of  the  steam  shovel,  and  the  supply  of  empty  cars  or 
wagons.  The  efficiency  of  a  steam  shovel  is  not  necessarily 
proportional  to  its  capacity,  but  to  the  amount  of  work  done 
compared  to  its  cost;  and  while  the  amount  of  work  done  is 
generally  larger  in  the  machines  of  larger  capacities,  this  ad- 
vantage may  be  more  than  balanced  by  the  greater  cost  of  oper- 
ation, including  the  cost  of  labor,  fuel,  supplies  and  repairs,  etc. 
Machines  of  the  largest  capacity,  with  dipper  of  2  1-2  cu.  yds. 
capacity,  are  employed  mostly  in  excavating  soft  materials,  es- 
pecially in  loading  gravel  for  ballasting.  Machines  of  medium 
capacity  are  usually  the  most  efficient  for  general  construction 
work. 

The  average  daily  operating  expenses  of  a  steam  shovel  of 
medium  capacity  are  about  as  follows: 

One  engineman $4. 00 

One  cranesman 3.50 

Oneflreman 200 

Four  pitmen  at  $1 .50 6.00 


Wages  of  crew $15.50 


$15.50 

One  ton  coal $3.00 

Oilandwa-te 75 

Water... .50 


Fuel  and  supplies $4 .25 


$19.75 

Interest  on  capital.  36,000,  at  6#    $1.00 

Depreciation  at  10* 2.00 

Repairs 1.00 


$1.00 


Total  daily  expense  with  regular  crew $23.75 

This  will  suffice  for  loading  loose  gravel;  in  the  harder  ma- 
terials ordinarily  occurring  on  construction  work  the  following 
daily  expenses  must  be  met: 


56 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AND  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 


Expenses  of  regular  crew 

Foreman *o-00 

Two  pole  (or  bank)  men  at  f  1.50 3.00 

Two  extra  men  at  $1.50 3.00 

One  night  watchman l-°0 

Powder  and  dynamite i-W 


Daily  expenses  on  average  construction  work. 


$13.50 


$23.75 


$37.25 


To  the  above  must  be  added  the  expense  of  transporting  the 
machine  to  the  work,  and  returning. 

The  cost  of  hauling  is  also  a  variable  item ;  it  depends  mostly 
upon  the  length  of  the  haul,  and  on  railways  very  largely  upon 
the  delays  met  with  in  going  to  and  from  the  dumping  place. 
On  construction  work  it  is  seldom  less  than  3  cts.  per  cu.  yd., 
and  sometimes  reaches  10  cts.  On  railways  it  is  not  often  be- 
low 4  cts.  for  hauls  up  to  10  miles  in  length,  and  may  reach  50 
cts.  or  more  for  hauls  of  75  miles  or  farther. 

Dumping  is  a  very  small  item  where  small  dump  cars  are  used 
on  construction  work,  and  does  not  exceed  1-2  ct.  per  cu.  yd. 

w«vv!&w™wi^^ 

Fig.  97, 


Fig.  98. 

When  wagons  are  used  it  will  average  about  i  1-2  cts.  On 
railways  the  cost  of  unloading  with  the  plow  varies  somewhat, 
depending  upon  the  kind  of  material;  it  averages  about  1-2  ct. 
per  cu.  yd.  Unloading  by  hand  averages  6  cts. 

On  railway  work,  where  the  spreader  is  used,  the  average 
cost  of  leveling  the  material  for  widening  embankments  is  only 
O.I  ct.  per  cu.  yd. ;  spreading  it  by  hand  will  range  from  5  to  20 
cts.  per  cu.  yd.  for  widths  of  5  to  15  ft.  from  the  unloading  track. 

The  total  cost  per  cu.  yd.  of  excavating  and  loading,  hauling 
and  dumping  different  kinds  of  materials  with  the  most  usual 
length  of  haul  averages  about  as  follows : 

Loading. 
Cents. 

Sand  and  loose  gravel 3 

Loam  3?£ 

Dry  clay  

Damn  clay 

Stiff  blue  clay 8 

Cemented    gravel,    hardpan,    etc., 
materials  loosened  by  explosives..  10  to  16 


Hauling. 
Cents. 
4  to  10 


Damping. 
Cent. 


Total. 
Cents. 


8     to  14 


to  1614 
to  18 


STEAM  SHOVELS  AXD  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK.  57 

The  steam  shovel  will  do  the  work  of  60  to  120  men,  saving 
from  5  to  25  cts.  per  cu.  yd.  of  material  excavated  and  loaded. 
The  gain  is  proportionally  much  greater  in  the  harder,  and  par- 
ticularly in  the  more  tenacious  materials.  The  machine  is  not 
adapted  to  small  jobs,  and  is  seldom  worked  in  cuts  of  less  than 
8  ft.  in  depth;  nor  is  it  cheaper  than  hand  and  team  labor  on 
such  small  jobs,  but  on  nearly  all  large  work  it  is  much  cheaper 
and  faster;  and  last,  though  not  least,  its  use  largely  reHuces  the 
number  of  laborers  required,  and  hence  the  probability  of  strikes 
and  other  labor  troubles. 


APPENDIX. 


ACTUAL  COST  OF  STEAM  SHOVEL  WORK. 


(From  an  article  in  Engineering  News,  June  9,  1888.  we  take  the  fol- 
lowing particulais  of  reports  on  the  actual  cost  of  steam  shovel  work, 
and  these  reports  show  how  variable  is  the  cost  of  excavating,  depend- 
ing, as  it  does,  upon  delay,  unavoidable  on  every  line  of  railway,  upon 
the  weather,  character  of  the  material,  length  of  haul,  and  many  other 
conditions.  When  conditions  are  favorable  as  to  material,  prompt  and 
short  hauling,  with  no  delays,  the  results  show  a  very  large  increase 
in  the  output,  and  often  a  decrease  in  cost.— Ed.  Eng.  News.) 

From  a  report  of  the  General  Roadmaster  of  the  New  York 
Central  &  Hudson  River  R.  R.  of  work  done  by  two  shovels 
on  the  Eastern  and  Western  divisions,  we  find  the  largest  day's 
work  for  one  shovel  at  Yost's  pit  was  17-4  cars,  the  average 
for  the  month  of  August  being  121  cars  per  day  and  for  July  116 
cars  per  day.  It  could  have  made  a  larger  average  than  this  with 
twenty  more  cars,  as  the  trains  making  long  runs  could  not  keep  oars 
in  the  pit.  The  largest  day's  work  at  Bergen  pit  with  one  machine 
was  156  carloads,  the  June  average  being  117  cars  and  the  July  116 
cars  per  day,  and  for  two  weeks  in  August  134  cars  per  day.  At  tills 
pit  they  came  in  contact  with  cement,  hard  pan,  and  very  coarse  ma- 
terial. At  Yost's  pit  they  have  loaded  10,511  cars  in  four  months  up 
to  Aug.  1.  Figuring  these  at  9  yds.  per  car,  which  is  low,  makes 
94.599  yds.  The  cost  of  delivering  on  roadbed  was  $5,261.25,  or  about 
5%  cts.  per  yd.  The  average  cost  for  handling  by  men  loading  and 
unloading  is  14  cts.  per  yd. 

The  report  on  a  machine  working  in  New  Mexico  on  the  Atchison, 
Topeka  &  Santa  Fe  R.  R.  says:  "In  cemented  gravel,  we  find  no 
difficulty,  under  favorable  circumstances,  in  loading  75  to  €00  cars  per 
day.  at  a  cost  not  to  exceed  10  cts.  per  cu.  yd." 

The  engineer  of  the  Cleveland,  Mt.  Vernon  &  Delaware  R.  R.  gives 


58  APPENDIX. 

some  statements  as  to  the  cost  and  amount  of  some  excavating  work 
done  under  his  direction.  This  shovel  worked  about  5%  months  in 
stiff  clay,  as  follows: 

March  loaded  1154  cars,  worked  24  days.  Sept.  loaded  1556  cars,  worked  23  days. 
July  "  955  •«  "  24  "  Oct.  •'  1552  •'  "  23  •• 

Aug.          "        1157      "  "        22      "       Nov.          "         539      "  •«        12      " 

Total,  6,915  cars,  41,490  cu.  yds.  Greatest  number  of  cars  loaded  in  a 
single  day,  97.  Shovel  supposed  to  work  ten  hours  a  day,  but  did  not 
average  more  than  6%  hours  on  account  of  waiting  for  cars.  Carloads 
average  6  cu.  yds.  per  car.  Average  cost  of  loading,  3  cts.  per  cu. 
yd.,  including  expeuse  of  all  men,  shovel,  oil,  waste,  etc.  Loaded, 
hauled  material,  and  unloaded  at  a  distance  of  ten  miles  from  pit,  at 
10  cts.  per  yd.,  including  all  costs,  shovel,  use  of  cars,  engines  and 
crews.  A  20-mile  haul  on  this  road  cost  15  cts.  per  yd.,  and  a  30-mile 
haul  about  20  cts.  per  yd.,  while  on  some  roads  a  30-mile  haul  costs 
over  75  cts.  per  yd.,  depending  on  the  frequency  of  trains. 

The  following  report  from  the  superintendent  of  the  Sioux  City  & 
Pacific  Ky.  gives  the  operations  of  a  shovel  for  nine  months  working 
in  a  yellow  clay  bank  from  30  to  40  ft.  in  length,  and  with  a  one-mile 
haul:  "  The  total  number  of  cars  loaded  was  31,420  in  209  days,  giv- 
ing an  average  of  150%  cars  per  day.  The  greatest  number  of  cars 
loaded  in  one  day  was  275,  with  an  average  of  6  cu.  yds.  per  car.  The 
average  cost  of  loading  per  cu.  yd.  is  6%  cts.,  including  expense  of  all 
men  about  shovel,  and  shifting  of  shovel  track.  Average  cost  of  un- 
loading with  one-mile  haul,  7.8  cts.,  including  wages  of  all  men  with 
trains  and  engines,  use  of  cars  and  locomotives,  with  all  supplies  and 
repairs  of  same,  making  a  total  cost  of  14.3  cts.  per  cu.  yd.  or  85.S  cts. 
per  car  delivered  on  track." 

A  report  showing  the  largest  amount  of  work,  with  the  most  com- 
plete detail  as  to  the  expense  of  operation  was  furnished  by  the  resi- 
dent engineer  of  the  Missouri  Valley  &  Blair  Railway  &  Bridge  Co., 
contractors  for  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern  Ry.  bridge  across  the 
Missouri  River  at  Missouri  Valley,  la.,  the  material  excavated  being 
used  in  the  approaches  to  the  bridge.  The  work,  a  tabulated  state- 
ment of  which  is  given  in  Table  IV.,  was  done  under  the  most  favor- 
able circumstances,  with  but  few  delnys,  and  with  but  one  locomotive, 
as  the  cars  ran  down  the  hill  themselves  while  being  loaded,  the  loco- 
motive being  employed  to  haul  the  empty  cars  back;  the  haul  was 
short  and  a  round  trip  was  made  in  30  minutes.  The  report  shows 
that  during  the  work  of  six  mouths  the  average  number  of  cars  loaded 
per  day  was  205,  including  delays  and  movings,  and  that  the  average 
cost  per  cu.  yd.  was  7  cts.,  which,  as  shown,  'ncluded  labor  of  loading, 
moving  shovel  about  once  a  month,  moving  track  to  suit,  dynamite 
for  caving  bank,  repairs  of  shovel,  fuel.  oil.  waste,  wages  of  watch- 
man, rent  of  cars  and  locomotives,  labor  of  engineers,  firemen  and 
wipers,  labor,  conductors  and  brakemen.  and,  in  fact,  absolutely 
everything  connected  in  any  way  with  tilling  the  embankment. 


APPENDIX. 

TABLE  IV. 

Work   Done  by   Steam   Excavator  in   Six   Mouths   at  Missouri  Valley,  la. 


59 


Repairs  to  locomotive,   shovel  and  cars;     material. 

Repairs  to  locomotive,  shovel  and  cars;     labor 

Supplies  for  shovel 

Rent  of  locomotive  and  cars 

Supplies    for   locomotive , 

Wages  of  locomotive  attendants. 


$457.14 

211.80 

1,760.00 

1,404.75 

1,781.52 

1.508.37 

Wages  of  all  other  employees 10,680.01 


Total   cost    $17.803.59 

Cars  loaded   32,141 

Cost  per  car   55.38  cts. 

Cost  per  cubic  yard 7    " 

Hours  worked  by  gang 2.325 

Hours   worked   by   shovel 1,926 

The  report  of  the  Headmasters'  Association  for  1885  gives  the  cost 
of  stenm  shovel  work  as  follows: 

Railway.  Work.  Cost  per  yd. 

Baltimore  dE  Ohio.  .Including  everything,   haul  5  to  25  miles 8.1  cts. 

Michigan  Central.  .Loading 4.5 

Michigan  Central.  .Hauling,  30  miles,  labor  only 4.0 

N.  Y..  P.,  &  O.  . .  . Loading    7.0 

Central  Iowa Loading     4.75 

"  "     Unloading 1.9 

"    Engine  service 3.1 

"  "    ..Total 9.75 

The  detailed  statement  given  in  Table  V.  was  prepared  by  Mr.  E.  A. 
Hill,  Acting  Chief  Engineer  of  the  Indianapolis,  Decatur  &  Springfield 
R.  R.,  and  is  a  record  of  work  done  under  the  supervision  of  Mr. 
A.  ,T.  Diddle,  Roadmaster.  It  shows  marked  economy  and  gives  an 
excellent  idea  of  how  the  expenses  are  apportioned.  The  Otis  type 
of  excavator  was  used,  which  cuts  24  ft.  wide  and  to  a  depth  of  4  ft. 
below  the  track.  The  banks  were  about  15  ft.  high,  the  average  haul 
4,000  ft.  Twelve  flat  cars  constituted  a  train.  By  a  special  cable  ar- 
rangement the  time  of  plowing  off,  ordinarily  requiring  about  15  min- 
utes, was  reduced  to  5  or  6  minutes. 


TABLE  V. 
Steam    Shovel    Work;    Indianapolis,    Decatur    &    Springfield  R.  R. 

Sangamon 

River 

Trestle. 

1885. 

Total  number  of  days 54 

Number  of  working  days.  .        46 
Days  idle  besides  Sundays.          0 

Material    handled light  clay 

Average  height   of  bank...     10ft. 

Total  No.  cars  loaded 2,899 

Greatest  No.  load,  per  day  94 
Least  No.  cars  load,  per  day  22 
Average  No.  loaded  per  day  63 
Average  length  of  haul....  1  mile. 
Grade,  shovel  to  dump.  p.  c.  — 1.00 
Tons  coal  used.shov.  &  eng.  141 
No.  car  loads  per  ton  coal.  20.5 


Monte- 

Sangamon 

Ni  chol's 

zurna  Gra- 

River 

Guion 

Hollow 

vel  Pit. 

Trestle. 

Trestle. 

Trestle. 

1886. 

1S86. 

1887. 

1887. 

186 

48 

108 

51 

115 

38 

85 

40 

45 

3 

7 

4 

'.    gravel. 

light  clay. 

light  clay 

,  light  clay. 

12  ft. 

10  ft. 

10  ft. 

12ft. 

8.631 

2,771 

5.254 

2.528 

124 

90 

80 

75 

16 

50 

30 

15 

75 

73 

61.8 

63.2 

9  miles. 

1  mile. 

2  miles. 

%  mile. 

varying. 

—1.00 

-1.00 

-1.00 

853 

99 

170 

6T> 

10 

28 

30.9 

38.9 

60 


APPENDIX. 
Cost  of  Work  Per  Car  Lond. 


Bf 

Foreman  at  $125  per  month 
Cranesman,  $2  to  $2.50  day 
Fireman  (shovel)  $1.50  day. 
Laborers  (4)  $1.25  per  day. 
Watchman  at  $1  per  day.  . 
Total   shovel   crew  

ingamon 
River 
Trestle. 
1885. 
Cts. 
8.86 
5.35 
2.88 
7.86 
2.07 
27.02 
12.00 

5.97 
17.97 

0.81 
0.15 

l'.69 
1.84 
6.81 
0.52 

Monte-       Sangamon 
zuma  Gra-      River        Guion 
vel  Pit.       Trestle.    Trestle. 
1886.            1886.            1887. 
Cts.            Cts.             Cts. 
9.67             8.00             9.01 
5.62             4.80             3.54 
3.37             2.87             2.90 
9.92             8.77              9.80 
1.96             1.88             2.50 
30.54           26.32           27.75 
14.50              7.44            11.00 

14.60              5.74              5.25 
29.10           13.18            16.25 
1.74              
1.88             1.38              1.45 

1.58             0.16              1-04 

O  fi9 

10.90              V.27            10.60 
13.10             1.43            11-64 
13.30              4.47              4.31 
1.55              0.75              0.86 
14.85             5.22             5.17 

Nichol'8 
Hollow 
Trestle. 
1887. 
Cts. 
9.88 
5.57 
3.27 
9.80 
2.25 
30.77 
13.10 

5.77 
18  87 
2.72 

2.08 

V.67 
1.67 
3.28 
0.36 
3.64 

Engr.  and  fireman  (engine). 
Trainmen  (conductor,  $2.50; 
brakemen,   $1.50)    

Total  train  crew             

Helpers  distrb.  earth.  $1.10 
Sec.  men  (track  work).  $1.10 
Bridge    carpenters    (repairs 
to   plant)     $2  50               .    . 

Sec.  men  (reprs  plant).  $1.10 
Shop  bills  (repairs  to  plant) 
Total   repairs  to  plant   .... 

Coal  from  $1.25  to  $1.41  ton 

Total    supplies  

6.83 

Grand  total  per  car  load.  . 

Cost,  cu.  yd.,  8  yds.  per  car 
Add      "      "  for  interest  on 

54.47 

91.19 

47.53 

62.26 

59.75 

6.43 
1.00 

11.40 
1.00 

5.94 
1.00 

7.79 
1.00* 

8.79 

7.47 
1.00 

8.47 

Cost  per  cu.  yd.,  includ.  int. 

7.43 

12.40 

6.94 

ADVERTISEMENTS. 


—BACON'S 


HOISTING 
ENGINES 

For  Every  Possible  Duty. 


PARREL'S— Ore  and   Rock 

CRUSHERS. 

Screens,  Elevators,  Etc. 


THE  STANDARD  10R  25  YEARS. 


EARLE    C.  BACON, 

ENGINEER, 

Havemeyer  Building,  New  York, 

WORKS : 

PACIFIC  IRON  WORKS. 
FA.RREL  FOUNDRY  &  MACHINE  CO. 


Steam 


REPAIRS. 

Dippers,  Dipper  Teeth,  Dipper  Bails,  Dipper 
Mouths,  Kept  in  Stock. 

CHAINS  OF  ULSTER  AHD  NORWAY  IRON. 


We  have  built  a  new  shop,  and  are  pre- 
paring designs  for 

STEAM   SHOVELS 

of  very  substantial  construction. 

We  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  we  have 
made  for  years  a  specialty  of  Pile  Drivers 
and  Steam  Dredges. 


VULCAN  IRON  WORKS, 

CHICAGO. 


NEW  YORK   DREDGING   CO., 

ENGINEERS    AND    CONTRACTORS. 


Hydraulic  Dredge  discharging  through  5,700  ft,  Pipe,    Will  dig  and  pnt  ashore  any  Material,  Bock  excepted, 


INCORPORATED  UNDER  LAWS  OF  NEW  YORK, 


Patent  Canal  Excavator. 


GEO.  W.  CATT,  M,  Am.  Soc.  C.  E., 

President  and  Engineer. 
O.  L,  WILLIAMS,  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 

SPECIALTIES: 

Machinery  for  Economical   Excavation  of  Canals  for 
Dredging  ;    for  Reclamation  of  Low  Lands. 

CORRESPONDENCE  SOLICITED. 


Machines  at    Work,  Washington,  D.  C.,     \A/ORLD     RUILDINfi      NPW    York      N      Y 
Jacksonville,  Fla.,  and  Oakland,  Cal.  VVUHLU     DUILUUNU,     IN6W     T  OfK,     IN.     T. 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


G.  L.  STEUBNER  &  CO., 


MANUFACTURERS  OF- 


HOISTING    BUCKETS 

OF  ALL  KINDS  AND  FOR  ALL  PURPOSES. 

Side  Dumping  Cars,  ffl\  Tar  Heating  Furnaces, 

End  Dumping  Cars,  I Sheet-Iron  Wort, 

fflS^S* CarS'  Irou  Forglngs,  Etc. 

Special  Cars, '  %^JSf|  TTi 

iron  Wheelbarrows,  \^§8£'     V  • 

Iron  Hoisting  Blocks,  \    ^  jr  Price  List. 

168-176  EAST  THIRD  ST.,  LONG  ISLAND  CITY,  N.  Y. 

THE  BEST  STEAM  SHOVEL  CAR. 

WRITE  FOR  PRICES  AND 
CATALOGUE  TO •• 

Ryan-McDonald  Mfg.  Co., 

44   SOUTH  STREET, 
BALTIMORE,  MD., 

MANUFACTURERS  OF —  •• 

Light    Locomotives,  Contractors'   Cars,  Derrick 

Irons  and  Crabs,  Hoisting  Engines  and  AH 

Classes  of  Narrow  Gauge  Cars. 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


Hi 


CONTRACTORS' 


.   .   .    AND    .   . 


RAILROAD  SUPPLIES. 

Construction,  •    •     •    • 
Dump  and  Mine  Cars. 


CATALOGUE  AND  PRICES  ON  APPLICATION. 


HAROLD  c.  DAYTON  &  Co., 

44  DEY  STREET,  NEW  YORK. 


iv 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


M.   BEATTY  &  SONS, 

WELLAND,     ONX. 

Dredges,  Ditchers,  Derricks  and  Steam  Shovels 

OF  VARIOUS  STYLES  AND  SIZES  TO  SUIT  ANY  WORK. 

SUBMARINE    ROCK    DRILLING    MACHINERY, 

HOISTING    ENGINES,    SUSPENSION    CABLEWAYS, 

HORSE-POWER  HOISTERS,  GANG  STONE-SAWS, 

CENTRIFUGAL  PUMPS  FOR  WATER,  SAND  AND 

GOLD  MINING, 

AND  OTHER  CONTRACTORS'  PLANT. 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


CONTRACTOR'S  LOCOMOTIVES  ON  HAND. 

"Tnr  /*E    keep  on    hand  a  number  of    sizes  both    narrow  and  wide 
gauge   locomotives,  of   best   construction,  for    contractors' 
service.     Catalogue  mailed  and  prices  quoted  on  application. 


H.  K.  PORTER  &  CO., 

BUILDERS  OR  LIGHT  LOCOMOTIVES, 

WOOD  STREET,  Near  7th  Ave.,  PITTSBURGH,  PA. 


NO.   I  SHOVEL  ON  CHICAGO  DRAINAGE  CANAL. 


OSGOOD    DREDGE    CO.,   ALBANY,   N.  Y. 

MFRS.  OF  DREDGES  AND  STEAM   SHOVELS. 


ADVERTISEMENTS . 


OTIS  &  CHAPMAN, 

EXCAVATOR 


STANDARD    GRAVEL  and 
HARDPAN 


MANUFACTURED  EXCLUSIVELY  BY 


JOHN  SOUTHER  &  CO.,  BOSTON. 

Earth  Displaced  at  ONE-QUARTER  LESS  EXPENSE 
Than  by  Any  Other  Machine 


To  Whom  It  May  Concern  : 

I  hereby  certify  that  I  have  used 
the  Otis  patent  improved  Steam 
Excavator  the  past  twenty  years, 
in  all  kinds  of  earth  excavation, 
and  believe  it  to  be  the  best  dry 
land  excavator  in  use,  and  the  only 
one  that  will  work  successfully  in 
hardpan  material.  I  have  exca- 
vated and  put  into  cars  five  million 
yards  under  one  contract  for  mak- 
ing land  in  Boston;  with  two  of 
these  machines  I  loaded  from  sev- 
enty to  eighty  thousand  yards  per 
month. 

N.  C.  MUNSOtf. 


J.  A.  LANE,  Manaaer. 
ROBT  SMITH,  Ass't  Manager. 


C.  P.  TREAT,  S,HC 

CONTRACTOR    BANGOR  &  AROOSTOOK   R.  R. 


.  DOTY,  Engineer. 
.  C.   DECKER,  Cashier 


Hou/ton,  Maine,  December  31,  1894. 

This  Is  to  certify  that  in  the  month  of  October,  1894,  the 
bearer,  Mr.  John  B.  Shaw,  with  1 3=4  yds.  Souther  Steam 
Shovel,  loaded  on  cars  38,168  cubic  yds.  of  ballast.  Pit  meas= 
urement  by  R  R.  Co.  's  Engineers. 

(Signed)  C.  P.  TREAT, 

per  S.  H.  Doty. 


III 

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